Action Needed: Tax Exempt Status of Municipal Bonds
Draft Resolution Included Below
At the request of several counties, below please find a draft resolution regarding support of maintaining the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. We encourage you to bring up this resolution before your board and pass along to your federal delegation as soon as possible.
Click here for a draft resolution on supporting the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds.
WCA sent out an update on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 on this topic and encourage county officials to contact their federal delegation on this important county issue:
The United States Senate and House of Representatives is currently reviewing the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. The exemption is nearly a century old and its continuance is vital to funding local Wisconsin infrastructure and economic development.
Any move to change the current tax treatment of local government bonds would lead to higher borrowing costs for Wisconsin’s counties and other units of local government. This means it would cost additional taxpayer dollars to build schools, libraries, roads and other public construction projects. Without access to tax-exempt financing, much-needed infrastructure improvements would likely be delayed, as Wisconsin counties have few financial resources available. This is particularly true in an era of declining aid dollars and unprecedented restrictions on local property taxes.
REQUESTED ACTION:
Please contact your U.S. Senator and Representative this week to stress the importance of maintaining the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. Ask your Senator to sign on to Senator Begich’s letter to President Obama and your House member to co-sponsor House Resolution 112 to voice their support for this exemption.
Additional information is available from the National Association of Counties (NACo) by reading their NACo Policy Brief here.
For questions, please contact WCA Legislative & Research Associate Kyle Christianson at 866.404.2700. Thank you and we appreciate your help!