Tax

The U.S. Congress is considering eliminating the federal tax exemption for municipal bonds, the single most important financing tool for cities and towns across America. If they do, the cost of building and maintaining infrastructure — roads, bridges, schools, water systems, and even broadband networks — will skyrocket.

The Southeast has many of the largest ports and cargo airports in the country along with extensive foreign investment that creates exposure to trade turmoil.

A city-created corporation plans to issue bonds for the mass transit project, paid off with a voter-approved hike in the maintenance and operations property tax.

The BDA met last week ahead of the House Ways and Means launching talks on what the reconciliation tax package may include.

Muni advocates are stepping up pressure on Congress to take the elimination of municipal bond tax exemption off the menu by exploring alternatives and providing numbers showing how short term gains will become long term losses.

The Lone Star state, the nation's largest exporter of goods, could be hit economically by a tariff war, particularly with Mexico, its biggest trading partner.

Missouri lawmakers have opened a new salvo in the battle with Kansas over who gets to fund new stadiums for the Kansas City Royals and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is in the early stages of hammering out a surface transportation bill designed to prop up the Highway Trust Fund while House Ways and Means tinkers with a tax deal.

Senate GOP leaders also aim to make the TCJA tax cuts permanent, which would raise the costs of tax reform unless a new scoring method is adopted.

The Bond Buyer's Caitlin Devitt and Kyle Glazier discuss the outlook for tax and infrastructure legislation.

Short-end U.S. Treasuries rallied mid-morning, while UST yields were little changed out long, but ended the day weaker across most of the curve with the greatest losses out long. Munis were steady throughout the day.

Lobbying efforts to keep the muni tax exemption in place is boiling down to convincing select members of the House Ways and Means Committee about the value of munis in financing local infrastructure projects.

Legislation to continue a sales tax and revenue bond program until July 1, 2028, and allow its use for mall redevelopment projects, passed the Senate.

The House now needs to negotiate a final budget resolution with the Senate, whose leaders have said they want to make the TCJA permanent.

The unpredictable nature of legislating leads most to holding off on disclosure changes until a bill becomes a law.

Native American Tribes are working their way through Congressional committees looking for support on legislation that would allow the tribes to issue municipal bonds using the same rules as state governments.

The Senate move provides an alternative pathway towards a final budget agreement as the House wrestles with an approach that could include key tax policy changes for the muni market.

Moody's is the latest rating agency to warn about a budget squeeze for Texas schools, which have been prolific issuers of voter-approved bonds in recent years.

In a first for the Midwest, a southern Illinois city plans to redevelop a mall using proceeds from sales tax and revenue bonds.

The state will have less money to spend in the upcoming fiscal year, according to projections certified in a process criticized by Oklahoma's attorney general.