Inflation Reduction Act
Mixed Messages on PABs: Fit for the Chopping Block or Cornerstone of Infrastructure Finance?
Only a few months ago, the public finance industry was shaken when the U.S. House of Representatives proposed to eliminate tax-exempt private activity bonds (“PABs”), despite previous assurances that tax reform would not touch tax-exempt bonds. Although the final Tax...
The Tax Reform Roller Coaster Ends – Summary of Provisions Affecting Public Finance
On December 22, 2017, the President signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Final Bill”) into law, bringing an end to the nearly two-month rollercoaster ride that had the public finance industry white-knuckled and a little green in the...
Tax Reform Preserves PABs, Axes Advance Refundings
On December 15, 2017, the conference committee on tax reform (the “Conference Committee”) released its Conference Report (the “Conference Report”) describing the agreements forged to reconcile differences between the respective tax reform bills previously passed by the House and the...
SLGS Window Closing; Tax Reform Continues to Threaten Public Finance
On December 6, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the suspension of sales of United States Treasury Obligations – State and Local Government Series (i.e., SLGS), effective 12:00 noon Eastern Time, Friday, December 8, 2017 . New subscriptions...
Tax Reform Could Indirectly Eliminate Direct Pay Subsidy For Outstanding Tax Credit Bonds
An article released by The Bond Buyer on November 14, 2017, reports that, if Congress were to pass the proposed legislation released by the Committee on Ways and Means of the U.S. House of Representatives on November 2, 2017 (the...
Senate Finance Committee Mark Eliminates Advance Refundings, Silent on Private Activity Bonds
Overview On November 9, 2017, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee released the Description of the Chairman’s Mark of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ” (the “Senate Finance Committee Mark”), which sets forth a summary of the proposed tax reform...
Proposed Tax Reform Puts Key Public Finance Tools On the Chopping Block
On November 2, 2017, the Committee on Ways and Means of the U.S. House of Representatives released its highly anticipated proposed tax reform legislation (the “Proposed Legislation”). The Proposed Legislation deals a severe blow to issuers and conduit borrowers by...
Proposed Treasury Regulations Bring the Public Notice Requirements into the 21st Century
Recently released proposed regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”) relating to the public notice and approval requirements for private activity bonds (the “Public Approval Requirement”) – sometimes referred to as the TEFRA approval – streamline the process and recognize the prevalence of...
FY 2018 Sequestration Reduction Percentage for Direct Pay Tax Credit Bonds Set at 6.6 Percent
According to an update released by The IRS Office of Tax Exempt Bonds, the sequester reduction percentage applied to the payments made to issuers of direct pay bonds in fiscal year 2018 will be 6.6 percent . This percentage will...
The Final Countdown: New Issue Price Regulations Effective June 7th
The June 7 th effective date for the final Treasury Regulations relating to the establishment of “issue price” of tax-exempt obligations (the “New Regulations”) is drawing near. In fact, for obligations that are scheduled to price on or soon after...
IRS to Begin New Procedure for Initiating Tax-Exempt Bond Audits
In late 2016, the IRS Tax-Exempt and Government Entities Division (“TE/GE”) released a memorandum to its examiners outlining a new procedure for initiating audits of tax-exempt bonds. The Commissioner of TE/GE recently noted that the change is meant to create...
Public Finance Update – SLGS Window Closing
On March 8, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the suspension of sales of United States Treasury Obligations – State and Local Government Series (i.e., SLGS), effective 12:00 noon Eastern Time, March 15, 2017. New subscriptions for SLGS...
The New Issue Price Regulations: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Late last year, the Treasury Department released final Treasury Regulations (the “New Regulations”) relating to the “issue price” of tax-exempt bonds, effective for bonds sold after June 7, 2017. Because the changes imposed by the New Regulations generally are more...
Management Contracts Safe Harbors Revisited – IRS Releases Updated Guidance (Again)
Demonstrating the “user-friendly” side of the IRS, on January 17, 2017, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2017-13 (“Rev. Proc. 2017-13”) (available here ) to address many (but not all) of the comments received on the rather short-lived Revenue Procedure 2016-44...