Scott Sowers

1 week ago | bondbuyer.com | Scott Sowers

The aftershocks of a credit rating downgrade by Moody's Ratings for the state of Maryland are still reverberating in the form of upcoming bond sales and reactions from state officials. "To hell with Moody's," said Maryland State Treasurer Dereck Davis. "Now you're seeing why, if you do some research, more and more states are also moving away from Moody's."  The comments came during a Board of Public Works meeting with Gov.

2 weeks ago | bondbuyer.com | Scott Sowers

The Internal Revenue Service is requesting documents from the Erie City Water Authority regarding a tranche of advance refunding bonds sold in 2019, in what looks to be a routine examination.  "This is the manner in which routine, random audits of bonds are opened by the IRS," said Rich Moore, tax partner at Orrick. "No reason to think anything is amiss here. This issuer just lost the audit lottery."  Notice was provided by the IRS to the issuer earlier this month as reported on EMMA.

2 weeks ago | today.westlaw.com | Scott Sowers

The budget reconciliation battle over the cap on state and local tax deductions moves to a close as state tax revenues show gains from personal income tax but declines in corporate and sales tax inflows. "The fiscal outlook for most states remains...

2 weeks ago | bondbuyer.com | Scott Sowers

The budget reconciliation battle over the cap on state and local tax deductions moves to a close as state tax revenues show gains from personal income tax but declines in corporate and sales tax inflows. "The fiscal outlook for most states remains bleak, as tax revenue growth continued to lag in the first half of fiscal year 2025," said Lucy Dadayan, principal research associate at the Tax Policy Center, Urban Institute & Brookings Institution.

2 weeks ago | bondbuyer.com | Scott Sowers

The battle for dwindling infrastructure funding, the possibilities offered by a surface transportation bill reauthorization, and new money flowing into the Highway Trust Fund is raising questions about public transit's future.  "We all have challenges ahead of us," said Rep. Rick Larsen D- Wash., the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.   "I'll be working hard to preserve transit funding in the next surface bill.