AMWA, Partners Go To Bat For Municipal Bonds

AMWA and its partners in the Public Finance Network wrote to all members of the House and Senate at the end of January to remind lawmakers of the critical value of tax-exempt municipal bonds, ahead of an anticipated tax reform debate that could put the financing mechanism at risk.

Framed as a “welcome letter” to members of the 119th Congress, the letter shared statistics on the value of tax-exempt bonds, and how their repeal could increase local borrowing costs by more than $823 billion – equating to an “over $6,500 tax and rate increase for every American household and business.”

The letter followed the earlier release of a PFN report, circulated on Capitol Hill, and further detailed how tax-exempt bonds help water systems and other infrastructure builders minimize borrowing costs. Without the tax exemption, the report explained, borrowing costs would rise and make it more difficult for communities to pay for essential infrastructure investments.

This spring lawmakers in Washington are expected to develop a comprehensive tax reform package that may propose rolling back or eliminating a host of existing tax deductions, potentially including the exemption for municipal bond interest. AMWA and its partners in PFN will continue their advocacy to support maintaining this critical exemption and share opportunities for individual utilities to become involved in the advocacy effort as well.