Real Estate Professionals Hold Annual Meeting

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The Association of South Asian Real Estate Professionals (ASARP) held its second annual gathering Dec. 15, at The Meadows Club, Rolling Meadows, IL., to discuss the latest tax reforms proposed by Congress and their ramifications for the general public and the real estate industry.

The non-profit ASARP’s mission is to provide a forum for interaction among South Asian real estate professionals and the communities that they represent, with some entertainment and education thrown in for good measure.

Among the chief guests were India’s Consul General in Chicago, Erica Harold, candidate for State Attorney General in Illinois, Tim Schneider, chairman of the State Republican Party, Dr Sapan Shah, Republican candidate for the U.S. Congress from the 10th District.

Other attendees included Nimesh Jani, member of Schaumburg Township Board, Nancy Suvarnamani, past president of Chicago Association of Realtors and FIABCI International, and several other wellknown real-estate professionals, according to a press release from Asian Media USA.

Pradeep B. Shukla, president of ASARP, noted that the last time the tax system was revised was in 1986, and reform was needed, and that the Trump administration had therefore introduced the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.”

“Principal goals are simplicity and tax reduction while keeping mind the principle of neutrality,” Shukla is quoted saying in the press release. Shukla went on to discuss what a final bill might mean for the real estate industry. “While there is overall tax deduction, what concerns our community as realtors, is dilution of Home Ownership Deductions. The stand taken by the National Association of Realtors is that homeowners must be treated fairly, must reverse decline in first-time home buyers as the home ownership level is 50 years low in 2016,” he said.

Other panelists included attorney Paul Chawla, realtor Brian Bernandoni, with moderator Al Haroon Hussain, an attorney. A question and answer session followed.