The roots of REITs date back to 1880 in the USA.At this time the investors have alleviated the double taxation as these companies were not liable to tax at the corporate level if the profits were distributed to the shareholders.This tax benefit was abolished in the 30ies of the 20^th century and all passive investments were firstly taxed at the corporate level and again subject to personal income tax.In contrast with the companies investing in shares and bonds REITs were not successful in amending this legislation until 1960 when the president Eisenhower reinforces the tax holiday for REITs in their capacity of a transitory unit.With slight changes this law is preserved till nowadays.Today more than 300 publicly traded companies operate in the United States holding assets of more than USD 300 billion as 2/3 of them are listed on the stock exchanges.

The history of REIT in Bulgaria is rather short.The basics are laid with the enforcement of the LSPV promulgated on 20 May 2003, already amended once and in force as of 1 January 2004.Currently there are 5 other REITs licensed to invest in real estate, as the expectations are that this year the interest of establishment and licensing of such companies will be exceptionally high.The Bulgarian Parliament considering the described above tax holidays has implemented similar rules and the tax benefits are fully applicable for each REIT duly registered and licensed in Bulgaria.