Tax

WASHINGTON - President Obama has sent draft legislation to the congressional deficit reduction committee that would have the potential to further limit the value of tax-exempt interest for higher-income taxpayers below the 28% level proposed in his jobs bill.

The Illinois Department of Revenue will hold off on any further actions that strip nonprofit hospitals of their property tax exemption for failing to provide sufficient charity care, while state officials and hospitals engage in talks that could lead to legislation setting minimum charity thresholds.

NEW YORK - The Internal Revenue Service is planning to begin full-blown audits of advance refunding bonds and focused audits of tax and revenue anticipation notes and multifamily housing bonds, an IRS official said at a seminar here Monday.

August tax revenue in California came in $65 million below a budget forecast of $6.23 billion, according to the Department of Finance.

WASHINGTON - State and local governments issuing new muni bonds are disclosing that President Obama's proposed 28% cap on tax-exempt interest for higher-income taxpayers, if enacted, could lower the value of the bonds or impair their marketability.

The Internal Revenue Service has completed an audit of $51.1 million of auction-rate securities the Orange County, Fla., Health Facilities Authority issued in 2005 for an Orlando health care provider without changing the tax-exempt status of the bonds.

DALLAS - Voters in North Little Rock, Ark., will decide whether to raise the city's sales tax rate by up to 1% at a special election set for Nov. 8.

The chairman and co-chair of a state tax reform panel last week urged the group to support a gradual elimination of Oklahoma’s personal income tax.

WASHINGTON - House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, on Thursday said the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction "is a jobs committee" that should also lay the groundwork for broad tax reform.

WASHINGTON - President Obama's jobs bill proposal to cap tax-exempt interest for higher-income taxpayers surprised muni bond market participants and was seen as a betrayal by some issuers who, according to one analyst, could have to pay about $10 billion more in added interest costs over the life of their muni bonds if the proposal is enacted.

SAN FRANCISCO - California lawmakers passed a slew of bills last week that could have an impact on public finance if Gov. Jerry Brown signs them.

WASHINGTON - State and local government groups have combined forces with dealers, bond lawyers and representatives from energy, education and other sectors to deliver a strong message to the joint congressional deficit-reduction committee: hands off our tax-exempt financing.

The Internal Revenue Service has completed an audit of $60 million of hospital revenue bonds issued in 2002 by Lakeland, Fla., finding no change to the bonds’ tax-exempt status.

WASHINGTON - State tax revenues continued to rebound in the second quarter but stock market volatility combined with recession jitters in August could affect tax collections in the third quarter, the Rockefeller Institute said Thursday.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Thursday he will introduce legislation when Congress reconvenes to establish a Social Security tax for high-earning workers, hoping to buffer the entitlement program from benefits cuts.

The California's Joint Legislative Audit Committee voted Wednesday to conduct an audit of the state's hospitals to see if they meet the public benefits requirements needed to maintain their tax-exempt status.

The federal budget deficit can be brought down if Congress follows through with mandated spending cuts and policy changes envisioned in current law — such as the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts — the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has opened an audit of $360.7 million of bonds issued in 2009 by Vernon, Calif., which has been roiled by political scandals and could be disincorporated pending the outcome of state legislation.

Another downgrade hit Rhode Island as Moody's Investors Service lowered its rating to A2 from A1 on the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp.'s motor fuel-tax revenue bonds, affecting $77 million of outstanding debt.

BRADENTON, Fla. - South Miami, has reached a closing agreement and settlement with the Internal Revenue Service over impermissible uses of tax-exempt bond and bank loan proceeds to build a parking garage.