PREIT Retains REIT Status

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, Philadelphia, has announced that it will retain its status as a real estate investment trust as a result of retroactive relief granted by the Internal Revenue Service.PREIT recently reported that it had inadvertently failed to opt for taxable REIT subsidiary status for a subsidiary company, which could have prevented it from qualifying for REIT status for the tax years 2001 through 2003. Under the relief granted by the IRS, PREIT has been permitted to make the TRS election, effective Oct. 12, 2001. The failure to make the TRS election would have resulted in a requirement to pay taxes, interest, and possible penalties, which could have caused it to default under various agreements, the REIT said.