Tax

The IRS is auditing $378.15 million of gas supply variable rate revenue bonds and $4.82 million of gas supply fixed rate subordinated revenue bonds that the Lower Alabama Gas District issued in September 2007.

A new Tax Policy Center report details how difficult it is to cut tax preferences in order to pay for lower rates in the wake of calls from President Obama, lawmakers and deficit reduction groups to curtail them.

Former state Rep. Vic Stelly, who engineered a now-repealed plan that raised income tax rates while reducing sales taxes, said last week that tax credits and exemptions are destroying Louisiana's finances.

A bipartisan group of senators will introduce an amendment to the small-business tax credit bill this week that would require online retailers to collect sales taxes from out-of-state customers.

The IRS is auditing $245.7 million of hospital revenue bonds issued by The Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama in Birmingham in September 2006.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder last week signed into law legislation that will set aside a portion of sales tax revenues for the cash-strapped transportation fund.

President Obama's call for Congress to pass a one-year extension of the Bush tax cuts for families earning $250,000 or less would boost demand for municipal bonds, market participants said Monday.

An independent investment banker from Arizona is seeking a U.S. patent for a new tax credit structure being modeled as an alternative to traditional bond insurance.

State and local groups are urging the Internal Revenue Service to amend draft rules that would provide guidance on how to determine whether entities are eligible to participate in governmental retirement plans.

Senate Finance Committee votes 24-0 to recommend Senate confirm Mark Mazur as Treasury assistant secretary for tax policy.

The Bond Dealers of America is forming a task force to focus exclusively on tax reform and its potential impact on the municipal securities market.

The Little Rock, Ark. Board of Directors gave tentative approval last week to a September election asking voters to extend a property tax that would support general obligation bonds.

Glendale, Ariz. City Council last week approved an increase in the city's secondary property tax.

The National Governors Association sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee lawmakers Thursday urging them not to pass the digital goods act because it would reduce state revenues.

The IRS has preliminarily determined that $147.18 million of revenue refunding bonds issued by the City of Houston Higher Education Finance Corporation in 2006 are not tax-exempt.

Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett on Tuesday rejected petitions signed by more than 290,000 voters calling for a Nov. 6 vote to continue a 1-cent sales tax that expires in May.

Total state and local government revenues rose 1.5% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2012, up to $325.3 billion.

The Treasury Dept issued guidance on qualified energy conservation bonds clarifying several aspects of the program.

A campaign to make permanent Arizona's 1% sales tax may be derailed by a discrepancy between the official version of the ballot language and the petitions being circulated to put the initiative on the November ballot.

While the Governmental Accounting Standards Board's new accounting standards announced Monday will improve financial reporting for public pension plans they also will put added pressure on cash-strapped state and local governments to reform their systems.