Tax

Internal Revenue Service officials are taking a two-pronged approach to address concerns there may be ongoing mispricing of investments and bonds in the muni market.

DALLAS — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback Wednesday said he will seek a lowering of the state income tax rate that would eliminate 23 tax deductions, including charitable donations, home loans and local property taxes.

SAN FRANCISCO — Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire asked lawmakers Tuesday to put a temporary sales-tax increase measure before voters and pass $3.6 billion of transportation spending.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission voted 4 to 1 to approve a final rule on business conduct standards for swap dealers designed to protect states and local governments, as well as taxpayers, from fraud in the swaps marketplace.

The Internal Revenue Service's initiative to determine whether municipal bonds are being initially offered at prices that fail to comply with tax requirements has left issuers upset and confused about the definition of issue price and what specific abuses the IRS is looking for.

Indiana has become the fourth state in the country to reach an agreement with Amazon.com Inc. for the retail giant to collect state sales tax on Internet purchases.

"Questionable practices" regarding the financings of the incinerator retrofit project in Harrisburg, Pa., merit a further investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the attorney for the City Council said in a report issued Friday.

Oklahoma tax collections could reach pre-recession levels by mid-2012, Treasurer Ken Miller said Wednesday, as the state economy builds on gains achieved in 2011. "We saw a quickened pace of the recovery for 2011," he said.

The Internal Revenue Service's tax-exempt bond office has formed a seven-person team that is using EMMA and other data from the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board to determine if muni bonds were initially offered at prices that raise questions about tax-law compliance.

The municipal securities market, still reeling from a handful of proposals President Obama and others offered during the last 14 months that pose the greatest threat to tax-exemption since 1986, may have a year's respite due to partisan bickering in Congress and the forthcoming presidential election, according to tax experts.

The Internal Revenue Service is auditing $800 million of hospital revenue bonds that were issued by the South Miami, Fla., Health Facilities Authority in May 2007 to finance projects for affiliates of Baptist Health South Florida and to refund previously issued bonds.

Gulf and Midwestern states hit by disasters in recent years received a holiday gift from the Internal Revenue Service on Friday.

The Internal Revenue Service is auditing $177.2 million of Series 2005I long-term adjustable-rate hospital revenue bonds issued by the Highlands County, Fla., Health Facilities Authority for the Adventist Health System/Sunbelt Group.

A task force last week proposed a local income tax rate increase in the Indianapolis region to finance a $1.3 billion rail and bus system over the next 10 years.

The Internal Revenue Service is auditing $120 million of revenue certificates issued by Georgia's Cobb County Kennestone Hospital Authority in October 2005 and $103.22 million of power revenue bonds issued by Colorado's Platte River Power Authority in January 2007.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has solid early support for his initiative scheduled for the November ballot to temporarily raise sales taxes and taxes on the wealthy.

While it's unlikely to singlehandedly trigger a rating upgrade, the New York Legislature's approval of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's overhaul of the state income tax code is a step in the right direction, muni market observers say.

Wachovia Bank NA, now Wells Fargo Bank NA, has agreed to pay $148 million to settle securities, tax and other federal and state law violations stemming from fraudulently engaging in secret arrangements with bidding agents to win business from municipalities and profits for itself from the reinvestment of muni proceeds.

The Internal Revenue Service has ruled that a nonprofit health care system cannot use tax-exempt bonds to pay off the debt of a for-profit subsidiary that financed the development of a wellness and fitness facility, even though the facility was donated to another nonprofit organization.

California Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled a ballot initiative to temporarily raise the top income tax rate on individuals to as much as 12.3% - making it the highest in the country - as part of an effort to raise nearly $7 billion annually.