Income taxes

Oklahoma can continue to collect income taxes from certain Native Americans in a case that threatened to cost the state millions of dollars in tax refunds.

The Senate advanced the One Big Beautiful Bill Act through a procedural vote, opening the legislation for debate followed by Monday's vote-a-rama.

Working out the differences between the Senate and House budget bills might result in lawmakers reaching for ways to pay for extending tax cuts and finance new programs which could put tax-exempt munis back on the negotiating table.

Attorneys and muni advocates are concerned as the Senate reviews the budget reconciliation process against the "Byrd Rule."

Indiana's Senate Enrolled Act 1 raises questions about local income tax-backed bonds, appearing to lack protections for bondholders as currently written.

Housing advocates are cheering the Senate's embrace of expanding Low Income Housing Tax Credits which ensures a volume increase and reduces a key bond threshold test.

As the Senate Finance Committee works on the the reconciliation puzzle, attorneys, accountants, and doctors are lobbying for keeping the pass-through exemptions that provide a workaround to the cap on state and local taxes in place.

The hard-fought increase to the cap on state and local tax deductions that was instrumental to passing the House GOP tax bill is under fire in the Senate.

The Senate returns to Washington with a ticking deadline clock to turn the House's One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law with questions remaining about the future of the SALT cap deduction and green energy tax credits.

As the budget reconciliation lurches through Congress towards a vote, the cap on state and local taxes remains a key bargaining chip while data shows state tax revenue declining and an uncertain future for the pass-through-entity workarounds adopted by more than 30 states.

The agreement includes $12.6 billion in spending for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and an income tax cut estimated to cost $160 million.

Muni advocates are watching the SALT cap negotiations closely, as the outcome may be influence if other revenue raisers, like axing the muni tax exemption, come into play.

"As we head into reconciliation and tax negotiations, I'm making it clear: I won't support a bill that doesn't lift the cap," Rep. Mike Lawler said.

The state, which lost its positive S&P outlook due in part to previous tax cuts, could have further reductions under a bill that survived the governor's veto.

The law cuts the individual income tax rate to 3% by calendar year 2030, with triggers that may drive future annual decreases until it ultimately falls to zero.

Moody's Ratings upgraded Nebraska's issuer rating to Aaa from Aa1 on Monday. It also upgraded the state's $24 million certificates of participation to Aa1 from Aa2.

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is in the early stages of hammering out a surface transportation bill designed to prop up the Highway Trust Fund while House Ways and Means tinkers with a tax deal.

The Senate move provides an alternative pathway towards a final budget agreement as the House wrestles with an approach that could include key tax policy changes for the muni market.

The state will have less money to spend in the upcoming fiscal year, according to projections certified in a process criticized by Oklahoma's attorney general.

The lobby trying to protect the tax exemption is working overtime as the threat appears very real.