Washington DC

The black box gang has always mistaken complexity for sophistication in the realm of financial modeling.

The U.S. Territorial Relief Act of 2018 would give territories the option to terminate their debt obligations while authorizing $7.5 billion in federal funds to compensate mainland creditors who are individual investors, trade unions, pension plans, and open-end mutual funds.

Rep. Bill Shuster's infrastructure discussion draft would temporarily raise federal fuels taxes for the ailing Highway Trust Fund while a newly created commission would determine how to ensure its long-term solvency.

The plan for a second tax reform bill is galvanizing municipal market groups to step up lobbying efforts to tout the importance and benefits of munis to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., blasted the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. as having “the potential to unleash chaos for consumers and remote sellers, particularly small business sellers.”

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., suggested he and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., may introduce a bill that would require MSRB to elect public members who represent consumers and are not just retired industry executives.

The 1.2-percentage point reduction will amount to $12,000 in saving on a $1 million tax settlement.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board named Gary Hall as its next chair and Edward Sisk to become vice chair. It also temporarily cut fees to reduce excess reserves by $2.6 million.

School districts, higher education institutions and healthcare providers could feel the pinch, according to Eric Kim of Fitch Ratings.

The audit could be part of an ongoing initiative by the IRS to examine refunding bonds, said a lawyer.

MSRB is seeking comments on a revised set of potential draft amendments to its rules on primary offering practices and related disclosures that it says would benefit the market for relatively limited costs to participants.

A motion for summary judgment by Indian River and Martin counties contends that the privately owned project isn’t eligible to use the private activity bonds.

Tuesday’s House hearing will be chaired by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., who was a steadfast supporter of the previous standard under which a remote seller had to have a physical presence in a state in order to be required to collect sales taxes.

George Callas most recently was senior tax counsel to House Speaker Paul Ryan and was a chief architect of the tax reform legislation enacted in December.

The study adds to the growing body of findings by think tanks and credit rating agencies that highlight the pitfalls states face when considering new taxes on e-cigarettes and marijuana because of the changing habits of American consumers.

A Civil War-era revenue measure is the centerpiece of the arguments in the lawsuit filed by four northeastern states.

The MSRB's disclosure website has beefed up its data offerings with two new yield curves that are available for free.

The sharp decline in trading spreads since 2005 was driven mainly by regulation and technological changes, according to the MSRB's chief economist.

James Spiotto warns that communities with pension problems face potential population loss if they raise taxes too high and are not able to maintain public service levels.

Will a lawsuit alleging a conspiracy in the VRDO market be dismissed early?