Tax

Fitch Ratings placed all outstanding notes of the Vermont Student Assistance Corp. 1995 bond resolution on negative rating watch.

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service finalized its regulations for tax-exempt financing of solid-waste disposal facilities, adopting most of the recommendations proposed by attorneys last year, market participants said Thursday.

WASHINGTON - State and local groups are sizing up the new congressional deficit reduction committee, determined to preserve tax-exemption for municipal bonds but acknowledging that federal funds for some of their programs will likely be cut.

CHICAGO - A trio of nonprofit hospitals in the Chicago area, including the prominent Northwestern Memorial's Prentice Women's Hospital, are expected to appeal the Illinois Department of Revenue's decision earlier this week to deny them their property-tax exemptions for failing to provide sufficient charity care.

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service has closed an audit of the Highlands County Health Facilities Authority's 2005 refunding bonds with no change to their tax-exempt status.

Texas sales tax revenues totaled $1.86 billion in July, up 10.3% from collections in July 2010.

The Garland County Quorum Court last week called for a special election on Oct. 11 for two proposed sales tax increases totaling 1%. The revenue would finance construction and operations of a new county jail in Hot Springs.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued procedures for its agents on how to apply the voluntary closing agreement program to Build America Bonds and other direct-pay bonds, such as resource recovery zone economic development bonds.

Indian tribes are criticizing the Treasury Department for failing to complete, within the congressionally mandated time frame, a study of the tax law requirements for tribal economic development bonds that the tribes claim are unfair.

The Internal Revenue Service has opened an audit of $31 million of health center revenue bonds issued in 2005 by the Lebanon County, Pa., Health Facilities Authority to refund bonds previously sold in 1999 for a retirement facility.

For the second time in two months, the Internal Revenue Service has disclosed it is broadening an audit of student loan securities, focusing on the position that student loans should not be reallocated to different bond issues.

State and local governments who issue draw-down bonds can breathe a sigh of relief now that the Internal Revenue Service has issued new guidance for their private-activity bond volume cap allocations.

WASHINGTON - District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray has refused to sign a council-approved bill that would delay taxing out-of-state bonds until Jan. 1, 2012, warning that the use of $13.4 million of reserve funds to pay for the delay could hurt the city's credit rating.

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., has introduced a bill allowing states to collect online sales taxes - legislation that has broad support from the business community as well as state and local officials, but so far has not attracted any Republican co-sponsors.

WASHINGTON - Municipal market participants on Monday were relieved that Congress was moving toward approving a bipartisan agreement to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit and avoid a default on federal debt, but were taking a wait-and-see approach on how the plan might ultimately affect the tax-exempt bond market.

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service has initiated very few audits of Build America Bonds based on issuers' responses to the compliance check questionnaires sent to them last year, a Treasury Department inspector general said in a report released Monday.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Ron Wyden has introduced a bill to create tax-credit bonds for transportation projects, hoping the program will navigate the political and economic realities that have challenged previous attempts at federal financing tools for state and local governments.

Legislation has been shelved in California that would have granted cities, counties, and school districts new taxing authority, according to press reports.

WASHINGTON - With lawmakers in Washington still deadlocked over a debt-ceiling solution, public finance attorneys are evaluating what the effects of a U.S. downgrade would be on the municipal bond market.

WASHINGTON - State and local groups on Monday urged congressional leaders and the Obama administration to quickly reach a long-term solution to the debt-limit crisis, warning it has stalled key legislation.