On March 29, 2018, the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL) formally requested guidance from the IRS regarding the ability of municipal issuers to issue tax-exempt advance refunding bonds to refund taxable bonds after the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The request comes on the heels of public statements by Treasury and IRS representatives regarding their belief that notwithstanding the passage of TCJA, municipal issuers may continue to issue tax-exempt advance refunding bonds to refund taxable bonds, so long as the taxable bonds to be refunded are not tax-advantaged bonds such as Build America Bonds, and the refunding otherwise complies with the requirements of section 149 of the Code and the regulations thereto.
Continue Reading NABL Requests IRS Guidance on Tax-Exempt Advance Refundings of Taxable Bonds

On December 4, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, No. 16-476, regarding the constitutionality of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (“PASPA”), a federal law that prohibits states from authorizing and regulating sports wagering. The case could have significant implications for legal and regulated gambling across the country, including Pennsylvania, where the General Assembly recently passed legislation that would authorize sports wagering in the Commonwealth if PASPA is found to be unconstitutional or is repealed by Congress.
Continue Reading Sports Wagering in Pennsylvania Could Soon Become a Reality

On December 20, 2017 Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).  The legislation was signed by President Trump on December 22, 2017 and many key provisions of the law became effective on December 31, 2017.

The purpose of the TCJA was to stimulate economic growth through a major overhaul of the Internal Revenue Code.  One of the signature elements of the TCJA is the reduction of the federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%.  While this may be good news to the business community generally, the rate reduction presents potential unique problems for conduit borrowers, such as 501(c)(3) organizations, and lenders under tax-exempt bank loan structures.
Continue Reading Review and Analysis of Tax-Exempt Loan Documents Following Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

2018 will be a year of monumental tax law changes following the recent approval by the House and Senate of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill into law in the coming days. While the Act in its final form contains some provisions that hurt the tax-exempt municipal bond industry, many detrimental provisions included in prior versions of the bill were dropped.
Continue Reading House, Senate Pass Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; Private Activity Bonds Saved

After several months of negotiation, and amid a larger debate on gaming expansion, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed Act 42 of 2017, a sweeping gambling reform bill. For municipalities in Pennsylvania, Act 42 has two notable provisions, one of limited impact on municipalities hosting casinos and the other of potentially much greater impact.
Continue Reading Pennsylvania Expands Casino Gambling—What Is the Impact on Municipalities?

Last September, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down a vital component of the Commonwealth’s Gaming Act, known as the “local share assessment” – a section of law that provides local governments with a significant funding stream backed by an assessment on certain gross revenue from casinos located in or around their municipality. The court’s ruling, prompted by a lawsuit filed by Mount Airy Casino, located in Monroe County, put in jeopardy hundreds of millions of dollars in local funding for counties and municipalities across the Commonwealth.
Continue Reading PA General Assembly Attempts Fix to Local Gaming Funding in Casino Reform Bill

Monetization is the process of converting assets into economic value. Looking for options to generate greater revenue, municipalities and public sector entities have begun to consider the transfer to private operators of a greater variety of public assets than in the past. There has also been the development recently of more creative and profitable public-private partnerships.
Continue Reading Generating Value from Public Assets