WASHINGTON — About 2,899 issues of Build America Bonds totaling $184.95 billion were issued in 2009 and 2010, according to statistics collected by the Internal Revenue Service, some of which were recently released.
Those figures are higher than the 2,354 issues of BABs totaling $181.96 billion that Thomson Reuters reports were issued during those two years.
In addition to BABs, the IRS data shows that 598 issues of direct-pay Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds totaling $6.602 billion were issued during 2009 and 2010.
The states where the most dollar amount of direct-pay bonds were issued in 2009 were: California, with $15.92 billion and 68 issues; Texas with $7.07 billion and 39 issues; New York with $5.79 billion and 22 issues; Illinois with $3.7 billion and 86 issues; and Florida with $2.21 billion and 22 issues.
Those states shifted slightly in 2010. California was still in the lead with $23.72 billion and 127 issues, followed by New York with $15.06 billion and 58 issues. Texas was third with $9.81 billion and 70 issues and Illinois was fourth with $8.09 billion and 225 issues. Ohio jumped to fifth place with $6.80 billion and 144 issues.
In 2009, direct-pay bonds were used most for: education with 315 issues and $19.58 billion; transportation, with 137 issues and $18.27 billion; and utilities with 107 issues and $7.01 billion.
In 2010, the education sector had 682 issues of direct-pay bonds at $30.93 billion, transportation had 269 issues at $29.39 billion and utilities had 471 issues at $25.10 billion.
The Hiring Incentives To Restore Employment Act, enacted in March 2010, allowed traditional tax-credit bonds to be issued as direct-pay bonds.
The IRS reports that 870 issues of these tax-credit, direct-pay bonds totaling $8.90 billion were issued in 2010. These included: 699 issues at $7.82 billion of qualified school construction bonds; 106 issues at $332 million of qualified zone academy bonds; 48 issues at $379 million of qualified energy conservation bonds; and 17 issues at $371 million of new clear renewable energy bonds.
The top five states in which these bonds were issued were California, Florida, Michigan, New York and Ohio.
Much less amounts of traditional tax-credit bonds were issued during 2009 and 2010, according to the IRS.
In 2009, 288 issues totaling $3.35 billion of traditional tax-credit QSCBs were issued, as well as 24 issues at $192 million of clean renewable energy bonds and Midwestern tax credits, and 66 issues at $179 million of QZABs,
In 2010, 134 issues at $879 million of tax-credit QSCBs were issued, as well as 43 issues at $163 million of QZABs and 22 issues at $42 million of all other tax-credit bonds.
