Tax

A bipartisan group of House members early next week will introduce Hurricane Sandy relief legislation that includes three municipal bond-related provisions.

The Municipal Bonds for America launched a technical advisory committee this week as a technical market data resource for members of Congress, congressional staff, policymakers and to support the overall advocacy issues of the coalition.

Members of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities participated in a White House sponsored conference call with President Obama earlier Wednesday to talk about the fiscal cliff and impacts any year-end budget deal would have on state and local governments.

Three Texas state legislators are urging the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service to adopt rules that would allow Texas' public charter schools access to the Permanent School Fund bond obligations.

The National Governors Association sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday strongly urging passage of the online sales tax bill before the end of this year.

The Internal Revenue Service has suggested that some of the revenue bonds issued in 1993 by the New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority for Deborah Heart and Lung Center may not be tax-exempt because of a "total return swap," and has asked NJHCFFA for more information.

Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., introduced legislation Monday that includes municipal bond provisions for issuers hit by Hurricane Sandy. The action comes on the heels of the Obama administration's request late Friday for Congress to provide $60.4 billion of federal aid but no new bonding authority.

The Internal Revenue Service's tax-exempt bond office will continue sending out its semiannual newsletter in 2013 after favorable feedback to its second edition.

The Vermont Student Assistance Corporation entered into the closing agreement with the Internal Revenue Service over $165 million of education loan revenue bonds they issued in 1998.

For the first time in the group's history, the National Conference of State Legislators descended on Capitol Hill Wednesday and spent the day lobbying Congress on one single issue: an online sales tax bill.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Tuesday that he is "hopeful" the White House will submit a supplemental Hurricane Sandy aid package to Congress by the end of this week.

A top White House official reiterated on Tuesday that President Obama is committed to the 28% cap on the value of tax exemptions for high income earners, which includes municipal bond interest.

The National Association of State Treasurers sent a letter to President Obama and congressional leaders urging them to come to a bipartisan, balanced agreement to address the looming "fiscal cliff" and federal budget crisis.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is expected to soon release a proposal for Hurricane Sandy relief aid that will likely include additional private-activity bond authority and special disaster bonds, sources said.

The Treasury Department has begun posting more detailed pricing information for time-deposit State and Local Government Series Securities (SLGS).

State and local groups are aggressively lobbying Congress in the remaining days they are in session to pass some form of legislation that resembles the Marketplace Fairness Act so they would be able to collect taxes from online sales.

The South Texas Higher Education Authority is the latest student loan bond issuer to enter into a voluntary closing agreement program with the Internal Revenue Service.

The Internal Revenue Service's tax-exempt bond office is giving muni bond issuers affected by Hurricane Sandy additional time to file certain bond-related forms.

After 40 years at the Internal Revenue Service, Robert Henn, acting director of the tax-exempt bond office, will officially retire on Dec. 29.

The American Bar Association told the Internal Revenue Service Tuesday that it strongly supports proposed regulations that would eliminate standards for state and local bond opinions under Circular 230.