Inflation Reduction Act
FERC Accepts PJM Capacity Performance Proposal
On June 9, 2015, FERC issued an order accepting PJM's proposal to modify its forward capacity market, the Reliability Pricing Model ("RPM"), to establish a new capacity product, the Capacity Performance Resource. PJM's proposal is designed to tighten the performance...
MLP Qualifying Income – Treasury and IRS Issue Proposed Regulations
On May 5, 2015, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed regulations that provide much-anticipated guidance on the scope of qualifying income under Section 7704(d)(1)(E) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) for master limited...
Year Long Pause Lifted on MLP Qualifying Income Private Letter Rulings – Proposed Regulations to be Issued
Following a year long pause, the IRS announced Friday that it has resumed its review of pending private letter ruling (PLR) requests and is accepting new PLR requests concerning MLP qualifying income under Section 7704(d)(1)(E) of the Internal Revenue Code...
State/Local Bond Proposals in Administration's 2016 Budget
Several proposals affecting tax-exempt bonds were included in the Obama Administration's Budget for FY 2016. As usual, the overall budget proposal has immediately been declared DOA by political pundits. Nonetheless, taking a look at individual proposals can help one get...
Simplified Settlement Procedures for Issuers of 501(c)(3) Bonds
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced a simplified process for issuers that have loaned proceeds of qualified 501(c)(3) bonds to borrowers that automatically lost their tax-exempt status for failing to file annual returns or notices for three consecutive years...
Final Treasury Regulations Set Deadline for Arbitrage Rebate Overpayment Claims
Effective November 13, 2014, the filing deadline for a claim for an arbitrage rebate overpayment on tax-exempt and other tax-advantaged bonds is two years after the final arbitrage computation date for the issue from which the claim arose. Treasury Decision...
Election 2014: Tax Policy and Tax Reform in the 114th Congress
Taxes in a Nutshell! Policy Resolution Group senior counsel Curt Beaulieu, who recently joined the firm from Capitol Hill where he served as tax counsel for the Senate Finance Committee, discusses key tax issues facing Congress with founding partner Scott...
Bracewell & Giuliani and Schwartz Page & Harding Receive Favorable Private Letter Ruling Regarding Tax-Exempt Bonds from Internal Revenue Service
Acting as special tax counsel to a governmental entity that sells raw water at wholesale to governmental and nongovernmental customers (the “Issuer”), Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, together with bond counsel Schwartz, Page & Harding LLP, recently obtained a favorable private...
IRS Releases Private Business Use Guidelines for ACO Participants
On Friday, October 24, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2014-67, providing guidance regarding the circumstances under which participation by a hospital in an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) will not give rise to private business use of the...
FY 2015 Sequestration Reduction Percentage for Direct Pay Tax Credit Bonds Bumps Up to 7.3 Percent
According to an update released by The IRS Office of Tax Exempt Bonds (TEB), the sequester reduction percentage applied to the payments made to issuers of direct pay bonds in FY 2015 will be 7.3 percent. This new percentage will...
Judge Reverses Own Decision to Extend the Texas Sales Tax Manufacturing Exemption to Include Oil and Gas Extraction Equipment
On April 11, 2012, Judge John Dietz issued a ruling from the bench in Southwest Royalties, Inc. v. Combs , Case D-1-GNU-09-004282 (Travis County 250th Dist. Ct.) to extend the Texas sales tax exemption for manufacturing property to include certain...
Texas Ruling Could Expand the Scope of the Manufacturing Exemption from Sales or Use Tax to Equipment Used in Oil and Gas Extraction
In a recent Texas bench ruling, in the case of Southwest Royalties, Inc. v. Combs , Case D-1-GNU-09-004282 (Travis County 250th Dist. Ct.), the court expanded the Texas sales or use tax exemption for manufacturing property to include certain items...