Tax

The Internal Revenue Service appears to have reversed itself in recently closing an audit with no change to the tax-exempt status of some general obligation bonds issued by a Pennsylvania school district issued in 2005 and advance refunded in 2013.

The highest tax-exempt bond priority audits for fiscal year 2017 will be on claims and returns that have been identified because of noncompliance issues, according to the work plan for the IRS’ Tax-Exempt Bond Office.

The Internal Revenue Service has informally advised the Baker Correctional Development Corp. in Florida that $45 million of first mortgage revenue bonds it issued in 2008 are taxable.

A bill introduced in the House would make municipal bonds issued by historically black colleges and universities tax-exempt at the federal, state and local levels.

The Internal Revenue Service’s proposed definition of a political subdivision could jeopardize the tax-exempt bonds of many public entities in Minnesota, the state’s congressional delegation recently told the agency and the Treasury Department.

Congress is not likely to do much other than passing a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown before they recess later this week or next until after the elections in mid-November, according to municipal market participants.

The Senate on Thursday passed the long-stalled Water Resources Development Act of 2016 that would provide millions of federal dollars to Flint, Mich. and any other community facing a water crisis.

A Brookings Institution study claiming professional sports stadiums built or renovated with tax-exempt bonds during the last 16 years have cost the federal government $3.7 billion has drawn some criticism from a sports consultant and municipal market participants.

Education officials and experts offered suggestions to a House subcommittee Tuesday on how to regulate private universities’ multibillion-dollar tax-exempt endowments, including by making them taxable in some cases because of concerns about their use.

Professional sports stadiums built or significantly renovated with the help of tax-exempt bonds since 2000 have cost the federal government a total of $3.7 billion, according to a study released by the Brookings Institution.

The Senate may vote Monday on whether to limit debate on a $9.4 billion bipartisan water bill that would provide $220 million in federal funding to remedy the Flint, Mich., water crisis as well as to help other municipalities facing water infrastructure issues.

The Government Finance Officers Association and the National Association of Bond Lawyers on Thursday each issued guidance to issuers and counsel on how to comply with tax-exempt bond rules after the issuance of tax-advantaged bonds.

An administration official and the chairman of a nonprofit group told Senate committee members on Wednesday that they support a bill that would provide Indian tribal governments with better access to bond financings and capital to support local infrastructure and spur economic development.

A coalition of more than 100 businesses penned a letter to Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., supporting his proposed online sales tax bill that would be based on “hybrid origin-sourcing,” while a tax policy expert said the draft would not quell the debate on how to tax Internet business.

A bill introduced in the Senate by Republicans would put Indian tribal governments more on a par with state and local governments for bond financings, giving them better access to capital to support infrastructure and local economic development.

Gambling is not a reliable and sustainable source of revenue for states or a solution to their budgetary problems, according to a recent report from the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

The proposed $6.9 billion Port Covington development project in Baltimore would include the largest tax increment financing district in the city’s history and would be financed in part with $660 million of bonds backed by the increased property tax revenues.

Financial regulators and others should work to reverse the increased narrowing of the municipal market caused by fewer retail investors and wealthier bondholders, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advocate told regulators.

House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Robert Goodlatte has floated a draft online sales tax bill that would create a “hybrid origin-sourcing” tax framework for sales of products over the Internet.

The Internal Revenue Service said Thursday it is seeking applications for vacancies on the Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT).