Tax

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has revoked the tax-exempt status of American Health Foundation Inc., raising questions about the tax-exemption of $28.96 million of refunding and revenue bonds that issuers in five states sold for three of its subordinate entities.

CHICAGO — The Michigan Senate Wednesday launched the first hearing on Gov. Rick Snyder's controversial measure to eliminate the state's personal property tax, a move that would likely bring more pain for already-struggling local governments.

Rep. Pat Tiberi, chairman of a House Ways and Means Committee panel, called for the elimination of most tax expenditures as part of comprehensive tax reform, which he said should be as pro-growth as possible and simplify the tax code.

DALLAS — Texas Gov. Rick Perry called Monday for a state constitutional amendment to link and limit increases in state spending to population growth plus inflation.

Texas collected $1.87 billion of sales tax revenue in March, up almost 17% from collections in March 2011.

A preliminary Travis County state district court ruling on whether oil and gas drilling and production equipment is exempt from the Texas sales tax could cost the state millions of dollars a year in lost revenues and billions more in refunds.

WASHINGTON — In the absence of clearer federal tax rules on issue price, a handful of bond lawyers have taken it upon themselves to assist issuers in reviewing and understanding the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's EMMA pricing data for new muni bonds, sources said.

WASHINGTON — Birmingham and Montgomery, Ala., have the highest combined state and local tax rates, at 10%, among major U.S. cities, a new report found.

DALLAS — A $19 billion budget that cuts spending for prisons and provides $98.5 million of property tax relief for senior citizens goes to the Colorado Senate after winning approval in the House on Thursday.

Bond attorneys are studying a recent IRS ruling that allowed Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to issue $1 million of bonds that were not subject to the alternative minimum tax.

Larry Bowden, an executive at Little Rock-based Stephens Inc., has taken over as chairman of Bond Dealers of America.

The IRS has launched a compliance practice research team that will seek to identify red-flags indicating questionable muni bond transactions.

The first monthly revenues from the 1% increase in Little Rock’s sales tax rate approved last year by voters totaled $3.4 million, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration said last week.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service closed an audit without taking any enforcement action on $600 million of Build America Bonds issued by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago that some market observers claimed had been mispriced.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service is auditing two special assessment bond issues totaling $64.46 million that were sold in May 2006 by the Wentworth Estates Community Development District in Florida and went into default.

A Congressional Research Service analysis suggests there are impediments to broadening the tax base by eliminating or reducing tax expenditures - such as tax-exemption for municipal bond interest - because they are viewed as "serving an important purpose" and are "quite popular" with the public.

DALLAS — Arkansas will study a proposal to turn the Interstate highway from Little Rock to Memphis into a toll road after the General Assembly failed to repeal a sales tax exemption on large trucks and trailers.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service is seeking comment from the public and federal government agencies on the guidance it issued for provisions in the Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008, which provided additional volume cap for tax-exempt housing bonds.

State and local tax revenues in the fourth quarter of 2011 grew by 2.1% from a year earlier, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth, the Census Bureau said in a report issued Thursday.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service recently closed an audit of $228.1 million of Series 2007A green bonds issued by the Syracuse Industrial Development Authority in New York without changing the tax-exempt status of the bonds.