BDA Leading Advocacy for Member Priorities The President and Congressional leaders have this week turned their focus to infrastructure investments as a major component of the next round of stimulus in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Discussions are still in the initial phases, but bi-partisian support for a “phase 4” package that includes direct funding for infrastructure seems…
Category: Protecting Tax Exempt Municipal Bonds
The BDA works with industry partners, including issuers and state and local groups, through the Municipal Bonds for America (MBFA) Coalition to preserve the tax exempt status of municipal bonds.
Learn more about the MBFA
BDA Submits Testimony and Will Host Capitol Hill Briefing in Support of Infrastructure Proposal
Today, February 12, 2020, after consultation with the Municipal Bond Executive Committee, the BDA submitted testimony to the House Committee on Ways in Means in response to a recent hearing titled, Paving the Way for Funding and Financing Infrastructure Investment and in support of the House infrastructure principles document. The BDA Comments can be found…
Legislation to Restore Tax-Exempt Advance Refundings Introduced
The House Municipal Finance Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) have introduced legislation with 10 co-sponsors, that would fully reinstate tax-exempt advance refundings. Since their elimination in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, reinstatement of tax-exempt advance refundings has been a top priority of the BDA. Working with our partners on Capitol…
Mayors in Support of Advance Refundings
Today, executive chair of the Municipal Bonds for America (MBFA) Coalition Steve Benjamin, Mayor of Columbia, S.C., submitted an opinion piece to the Bond Buyer advocating for the full reinstatement of advance refundings, while also explaining why this important financing tool is significant for local government infrastructure investment and local control. You can view his commentary online here. An…
MBFA Executive Committee Submits Thank You Letter to Rep. Randy Hultgren
BDA CEO Mike Nicholas, along with other members of the Municipal Bonds for America (MBFA) Executive Committee, recently sent a “thank you” to Rep. Randy Hultgren (IL-14) for his dedication to preserving the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds and for his support in creating the Congressional Municipal Finance Caucus, which he co-chaired, during his time…
MBFA Chair Sits for Bond Buyer Podcast: Can Advance Refundings Make a Comeback?
Mayor Benjamin recently sat down with the Bond Buyer to discuss the importance of advance refundings for municipal bond issuers, his agenda as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the work of the MBFA coalition. The podcast was released this morning and can be found here. Additionally, Mayor Benjamin introduced a resolution at…
BDA Submits Comments to the House Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee
The BDA has submitted written comments to the House House Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee in support of fully reinstating tax-exempt advance refundings and expanding the use of private activity bonds (PABs). The comments can be viewed here. The comments were submitted in response to a recent hearing titled, “Tax Reform and Small Businesses: Growing Our Economy…
Update on Possible Legislative Alternatives to Repeal of Advance Refundings
The BDA is closely monitoring proposed tax policy initiatives to identify useful arguments that may be marshaled on behalf of alternatives to the repeal of advance refundings. Currently, there are 3 potential policy alternatives that BDA has been proactively assessing including: Implementation of Revenue Ruling 2018-26 for advance refundings Revision of the current 90-day limitation…
BDA Submits Written Comments in Support of Reinstating Municipal Advance Refundings
On March 28, 2018, the BDA submitted written comments to the House Ways and Means Committee in support of H.R. 5003, that would fully reinstate tax-exempt advance refundings, including qualified 501c (3) bonds. A copy of the comments can be viewed here. The comments were submitted in response to a hearing titled,“Post Tax Reform Evaluation of Recently Expired Tax…
Advance Refunding Legislation Announced in the House
On February 13, 2018, Representatives Randy Hutgren (R-IL), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) and Luke Messer (R-IN), with full support of the BDA, plan to introduce bipartisan legislation that would fully reinstate the advanced refunding of municipal bonds. Background Municipal advanced refunding were repealed in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Groundwork was laid by the BDA…