Tax

State and local groups overwhelmingly praised the Senate passage of the online sales tax bill late Monday night but it still remains uncertain whether it can clear the House, where Republicans view it as a new tax.

The Senate is expected to easily pass an online sales tax bill Monday but it may face a larger hurdle in the Republican-controlled House, where many members view it as a new tax.

The highly anticipated Joint Committee on Taxation tax reform report recommends repealing tax exemption for municipal bonds as one option for overhauling the tax code.

The National Association of Bond Lawyers is suggesting that the Internal Revenue Service revisit the methodology used to calculate adjusted applicable federal rates for tax-exempt bonds.

The National Association of Bond Lawyers is urging the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service to develop guidance on the definition of issue price for tax-exempt bonds and private business use tests for accountable care organizations.

The eleven House Ways and Means Committee tax reform working groups will begin presentations next week to the full committee based on their findings and suggestions to change the tax code, congressional sources said.

The Internal Revenue Service has told a Florida Congressman that the agency will not be providing guidance on political subdivisions that would affect community development districts in the state.

Absent any policy changes, state and local governments will face an increasing gap between receipts and expenditures in future years, a new Government Accountability Office report concluded.

There were 207 rating changes in the first quarter of 2013, of which 83% were downgrades, a new Moody's Investors Service report found.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced late Thursday that an agreement has been reached on the Marketplace Fairness Act and a final vote will be scheduled for the week of May 6.

For the first time ever, state and local governments' contribution to national gross domestic product is still negative three years after a recession has passed its low point, the Tax Policy Center found in a new report.

Two groups are urging House Ways and Means Committee members to preserve low income housing tax credits and tax-exempt housing bond programs as they consider comprehensive tax reform.

Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., has introduced a new bill that would make permanent qualified school construction bonds and qualified zone academy bonds as part of his Rebuilding America's School Act.

The Congressional Budget Office has scored the online sales tax bill pending in the Senate and found that it would have not have any impact on the federal budget or impose costs on state, local or tribal governments.

The Internal Revenue Service has closed an audit without changing the tax exempt status of $52 million of sales tax revenue bonds the Cleveland County, Okla., Justice Authority issued in 2009.

Kentucky Treasurer Todd Hollenbach is asking residents of the state to urge their congressional representatives to save the tax-exemption on municipal bonds.

Miami-Dade County commissioners at their regular meeting May 7 will be asked to create a task force to study increasing the local sales tax to pay for needed infrastructure.

At least 11 small Wisconsin cities -- who approached the federal government's Build America Bond program with a skeptical eye and stuck with flexible redemption provisions – may act on their options due to federal subsidy cuts.

Senate Finance Committee chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., will not seek reelection in 2014.

The Obama administration released a policy statement on Monday afternoon strongly supporting the online sales tax bill just two hours before a planned Senate cloture vote on whether to limit debate on the measure.