Jennifer DePaul

Twenty-two House Republicans urged House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan to call for the top tax rate to be 25% and repeal of the alternative minimum tax, among other things, in his FY-2014 budget resolution.

The IRS' TEB office released a new check list form that will be required for a voluntary closing agreement program submission request.

Massachusetts Democrat Rep. Richard Neal has introduced a bill that would permanently extend Build America Bonds with a subsidy rate that drops on a phased-in basis and a provision that ensures sequestration would not result in reduced Treasury subsidy payments to issuers.

The Internal Revenue Service granted a state agency a one-year extension of the expenditure period for qualified school construction bond proceeds, according to a recent private letter ruling.

State tax revenues grew 5.7% in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to the same time in 2011, the strongest in the last six quarters, the Rockefeller Institute of Government reported Wednesday.

A California Republican appears to be preparing to reintroduce legislation that would prohibit states from issuing tax-exempt, tax-credit and direct-pay bonds unless they subject their pension plans to federal government oversight and regulation.

The Internal Revenue Service's tax-exempt bond office will process Build America Bond and other direct-pay bond payments manually for a two to three weeks to factor in 8.7% sequestration cuts, but are working to ensure this does not delay the payment process.

The National Governors Association sent two similar letters to President Obama and congressional leaders urging them to put their partisan bickering aside and come together to avoid the automatic, across-the-board budget cuts set to begin Friday.

State and local groups have one message for Washington: "Don't mess with our tax exempt bonds!"

The House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dave Camp said Tuesday he wants to introduce a comprehensive tax reform bill that will be approved by the committee this year, but that he doesn't support the 28% cap that President Obama has proposed for tax exemption and other tax expenditures.

The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday voted 19 to 5 to recommend that the full Senate confirm Jacob Lew as the next Treasury Secretary.

The Internal Revenue Service closed an audit of $39.24 million general obligation bonds issued in 2007 by Manchester, Conn., with no change to the bonds' tax-exempt status.

Municipal market participants are encouraged but cautious about President Obama's proposal for a new type of taxable direct-pay bond called America Fast Forward bonds to finance the nation's infrastructure.

President Obama stepped up pressure on Congress Tuesday to avoid the "meat-cleaver approach" of automatic, across-the-board federal budget cuts that are set to go into effect on March 1.

The IRS is auditing two separate issuers to address the accuracy of form 8038-T, a project the agency has taken up as one of their fiscal 2013 goals. Form 8038-T is filed by issuers when making an arbitrage payment.

After nearly one decade, the debate over online sales tax might be coming to an end.

Three state treasurers are leading an effort in the nation's capital this week by meeting with policy makers and the White House to say that curtailing or eliminating tax exemption is not an abstract issue but rather it would have significant adverse impacts at the state and local level.

House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., is working on the second phase of his comprehensive tax reform plan with the creation of small bipartisan working groups within the committee.

A bill that would allow states to collect taxes from online purchases will be introduced in both chambers of Congress on Thursday, after several setbacks at the end of last year.

It's unlikely that any short-term fixes to the upcoming fiscal crises, including sequestration, will include significant measures that would curtail or eliminate tax-exemption.