Rep. Hultgren renews push to protect tax-exempt status of private-activity bonds

Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) is renewing a push to have House leadership protect the tax-exempt status of private-activity bonds as part of tax-reform efforts. Earlier this year, a bipartisan group of 150 House members, including Hultgren, who co-chairs the Congressional Municipal Finance Caucus, expressed support for the tax-exempt bonds. “As Congress considers tax reform and infrastructure financing, we, the undersigned, write to express our strong support for a potent tool already in hand – the tax-exempt municipal bond,” said the March 8 letter. “For more than a century, states and local governments have depended on this reliable and efficient means of financing.” The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1), which is being marked up this week in the House Ways and Means Committee, contains a provision that would eliminate the tax-exemption for private-activity bonds, including qualified 501(c)(3) hospital bonds. The bonds help not-for-profit hospitals and health systems access low-cost capital, enabling them to keep infrastructure expenditures low. AHA opposes eliminating the tax-exempt status of private-activity bonds.