The Minutemen’s seminal album Double Nickels on the Dime includes the song “The Big Foist,” which opens with the lyrics, “A richer understanding of what’s already understood.” These lyrics are called to mind (my mind, at least) on occasions such as the Treasury Department’s publication today of proposed regulations (“Proposed Regulations”) that clarify the definition … Continue Reading
Timing, as they say, is everything. The tax-exempt bond rules are full of deadlines and sunsets, both before and after the issue date and before and after the project is finished. Click above for a diagram of how some of these rules work together. It’s by no means exhaustive, but certainly exhausting. Maybe you’ll find it … Continue Reading
On July 18, 2016, the Treasury Department published final regulations on non-issue price arbitrage restrictions (the “Final Regulations”) in the Federal Register. The Final Regulations finalize regulations proposed in 2007 and 2013 (collectively, the “Proposed Regulations”). Click here for a copy of the Final Regulations, and read below for a high-level summary of them. We … Continue Reading
Under Section 148 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“Code” – it’s been almost a year since we started this blog, and our devotion to defined terms remains unswerving), the gross proceeds of a tax-exempt bond issue cannot be invested at a yield that is materially higher than the yield of bond … Continue Reading
The Bond Buyer recently reported on a warning by Federal Reserve Bank of New York president and chief executive officer William Dudley ($) against borrowing to cover operational deficits. Mr. Dudley distinguished capital borrowings from operational, or working capital, borrowings to illustrate the objective of “matching” the cost and benefits of financed facilities through long-term capital … Continue Reading
We’ve previously reported that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued eight private letter rulings under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 54A(d)(2)(B)(iii) that grant an extension of the three-year expenditure period that applies to an issue of qualified tax credit bonds (QTCBs). An issuer of QTCBs must reasonably expect on the issuance date of the … Continue Reading
A recent article in The Bond Buyer ($) reported that IRS agents have been raising concerns during audits about bond proceeds that remain unspent or that haven’t been spent in a timely manner. The article reports further that IRS agents are not “buying the argument” that those transactions were originally sized reasonably even though changed … Continue Reading
