WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service has closed an examination of $373 million of airport revenue bonds that were issued in 2005 by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission with no change to the tax-exempt status of the bonds, it was announced Wednesday.
The IRS action was disclosed by the issuer in a material event notice it submitted to the nationally recognized municipal securities information repositories.
The commission stated in the notice that it received a Sept. 2 letter from the IRS announcing the conclusion of the examination with no change.
The commission said it was notified by the IRS that it was beginning an examination of the debt in a letter dated April 2, and that it disclosed the initiation of the audit in a material event notice filed with the NRMSIRs on April 11.
It is not clear from the notice if the bonds had been tapped for an audit due to some IRS questions surrounding the financing, or if the agency had simply selected the bonds for an apparently random examination or as part of a specific IRS initiative.
Robert Schauer, the director of finance for the commission, could not be reached for comment.
The bond proceeds were used to finance portions of a capital improvement program slated to be completed in 2010, as well as to refund $179 million of 2000 bonds and some commercial paper.
The former Lehman Brothers, now part of Barclays Capital, served as lead underwriter on the negotiated sale of the bonds. Kutak Rock LLP was bond counsel and disclosure counsel, and Hogan & Hartson LLP was underwriter's counsel. First Albany Capital Inc. was financial adviser to the commission.
