Tax

The governor is calling for a freeze on planned cuts to individual and corporate tax rates.

Mesirow's George Barbar said the group's top legislative focus is preserving the municipal bond tax exemption.

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.