Tax

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. and former Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Fred Goldberg have twice requested guidance from the Treasury Department to increase the availability of financing for rehabilitating affordable housing units damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.

California's revenues for December came in more than 1% above estimates in the budget, according to Controller John Chiang.

The IRS is auditing $49.67 million of general obligation bonds issued by the Oregon State Board of Higher Education in 2006.

Preserving tax exemption for municipal bonds is a top priority for states, governors said Wednesday.

The Internal Revenue Service's National Taxpayer Advocate is urging Congress to make tax reform its highest priority and to simplify the federal tax code by reassessing the need for every tax expenditure, including the exclusion of tax-exempt municipal bond interest from income.

Hidden away in the fiscal cliff agreement is a two-year extension of empowerment zone tax incentives, including finance authority for enterprise zone bonds.

In the shadow of the fiscal cliff agreement, the likelihood of comprehensive tax reform that would seriously damage municipal bonds this year has slightly diminished, according to a research firm and other market participants.

Alabama has the highest national "impairment rate" at 15%, according to a new database that tracks state-specific municipal default rates.

The House overwhelmingly passed the first installment of Hurricane Sandy supplemental aid legislation Friday to increase the National Flood Insurance program's borrowing authority by $9.7 billion.

The House will vote on the first portion of a Hurricane Sandy aid package Friday, but it will not contain any municipal bond provisions and it's unlikely they will be included in future amendments.

After months of rancorous fighting, Congress narrowly passed a last-minute deal to avoid most of the scheduled tax hikes and spending cuts and did not include a cap on tax exemption, allowing the muni market to breathe a temporary sigh of relief.

The South Carolina Alliance to Fix Our Roads has begun to lobby for an increase in the state's motor fuel tax to fund more than $50 billion in needed transportation improvements.

The mere threat of including a 28% cap on the value of municipal tax exemption in a fiscal cliff deal has already caused munis to be more expensive for issuers and, if adopted, will fundamentally change the market, analysts and government groups warned Thursday.

House Speaker John Boehner's "Plan B" backup proposal to prevent some tax rate increases would make permanent two muni bond provisions that were originally enacted under the 2001 and 2003 Bush-era tax cuts.

The State Bond Commission considers a plan Thursday by Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District for a $430 million refunding in 2013.

In yet another fiery exchange over efforts to avert the fiscal cliff, a top White House administration official said Wednesday President Obama will veto House Speaker John Boehner's backup plan.

The Internal Revenue Service has notified New Orleans officials that it has closed an audit of more than $70 million of public improvement bonds issued by the city in 2007 with no change to their tax-exempt status.

White House officials rejected House Republicans' Plan B fallback proposal to extend tax rate cuts for those making under $1 million, warning it does not go far enough and will not pass muster in the Senate.

Municipal market participants are increasingly anxious that a year-end "fiscal cliff" deal between the administration and Congress will include some type of cap on tax exemption, perhaps even the 28% cap proposed by President Obama.

The lingering effects of the recession, increased health care costs, and uncertainty from the federal government hang over states even as many expect to see revenue collections and spending levels increase in the coming year.