Tax

The long holiday weekend comes at a perfect time for tired muni market participants after a furious few weeks of action spurred by tax reform.

The muni primary market ground to a halt after a barrage of deals triggered by tax legislation.

The urgency for healthcare issuers to sell tax-exempt bonds is gone after private activity bonds survived tax reform.

The muni market is skidding to a halt from a break-neck issuance filled two weeks, as an eerie quiet pervades ahead of the long holiday weekend.

The two largest deals of the week touched down, as yields rose with comprehensive tax reform just a few President Trump pen strokes away from becoming official.

If Trump signs the tax bill this year without a waiver from the PAYGO Act, it would trigger a $136 billion cut in mandatory federal programs, wiping out federal subsidies for Build America Bonds and other direct-pay bonds.

The primary market is still waiting for the last few deals of the week to hit, as both the holiday weekend and tax bill becoming law draw closer.

Bond director Ben Watkins lamented the loss of the refinancing tactic that helped refinance 62% of the state’s debt portfolio.

Only a handful of larger deals remain for pricing in the market on Wednesday, as comprehensive tax reform is imminent.

Breakneck action continued in the primary market as issuers flooded the market ahead of the tax reform vote, in order to get deals closed before the end of the year.

What does the new tax legislation mean for the municipal bond market? Bond Buyer Washington Bureau Chief Lynn Hume and Contributing Editor John Hallacy sort it out. Chip Barnett hosts.

Market experts see less municipal bond volume next year, far fewer bank loans, new buyers of bonds, and more volatility if the tax bill is enacted as expected.

After Puerto Rico failed to persuade Congress to ease the modified territorial tax system in the tax law, an opportunity zone measure helping the island may be included in a January emergency spending bill.

In an unusually busy Monday, municipal bond issuers tried to beat the clock and complete sales ahead of the impending tax reform.

Approval of the tax reform bill led the Florida Development Finance Corp. to cancel its Monday meeting to approve a deal for the train project.

The final tax bill released late Friday afternoon saved private activity bonds but advance refunding bonds will disappear.

The future accessibility of private activity bonds and stadium bonds is the massive tax bill's gift to the municipal market this holiday season. However, the bill also brings coal in the form of a year-end halt to advance refundings and a drop in the corporate tax rate.

As the exact language of the final tax legislation looms, municipal market participants eager wait to see how it pertains to private activity bonds, there will be $11 billion of issuance awaits as issuers make one final push.

The municipal bond market will be hurt less than expected by the tax bill with the retention of private activity bonds, but will still be hurt by the loss of advance refundings and the huge reduction in the corporate tax rate to 21%.

After several years of sluggish revenue growth, U.S. states enacted cautious budgets for fiscal 2018, according the National Association of State Budget Officers.