The lengthy saga of the transition to a post-LIBOR world reached a degree of finality on the tax side with the issuance by the Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of long-awaited final regulations (the...more
Today, the SEC published in the Federal Register a proposed notice of an exemptive order (the “Proposal”) that would, subject to limitations and conditions discussed below, exempt certain individuals seeking to find investors...more
10/14/2020
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Comment Period ,
Exemptive Orders ,
Finders ,
Investors ,
Municipal Securities Issuers ,
Public Finance ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
On October 2, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service released final regulations providing guidance for Section 529A “qualified ABLE programs” established by states under the Stephen Beck Jr. Achieving a Better Life Experience Act...more
10/13/2020
/ ABLE Act ,
Beneficiaries ,
Contribution Limits ,
Disabilities ,
Gift Tax ,
Investment Funds ,
IRS ,
New Regulations ,
Recertification ,
Section 529 Program ,
Section 529A ,
Transfer Taxes
To our friends and clients:
Below is an update on legislative efforts by Congress and the White House to address the coronavirus pandemic, prepared by our D.C. colleagues at ML Strategies, who are closely following these...more
Lenders, creditors and swap parties may finally begin to replace LIBOR with confidence. While LIBOR’s demise was announced in 2017, efforts to amend the vast pool of LIBOR-based bonds and swaps to reference a replacement...more
Tolstoy warned that “if you look for perfection, you’ll never be content”, but Tolstoy wasn’t a bankruptcy lawyer. In the world of secured lending, perfection is paramount. A secured lender that has not properly perfected its...more
The IRS on April 11, 2018 released Revenue Procedure 2018-26 (Rev. Proc. 2018-26), which expands remedial action options in connection with certain post-issuance leases to private parties of facilities financed with...more
On September 28, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) withdrew previous proposed regulations and released new proposed regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”) relating to public approval requirements for tax exempt...more
10/13/2017
/ 501(c)(3) ,
Bond Issuers ,
Bonds ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Notice Provisions ,
Notice Requirements ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Notice ,
Tax-Exempt Bonds ,
Websites
The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26 opinion in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, precluding states from discriminating against churches in at least some state financing programs, raises anew the question of...more
6/28/2017
/ Churches ,
Discrimination ,
Establishment Clause ,
First Amendment ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Religious Institutions ,
Religious Schools ,
SCOTUS ,
State Aid ,
State and Local Government ,
State Funding ,
Tax-Exempt Bonds ,
Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia Inc. v Comer
Public financing, including tax-exempt bond financing, of facilities used by professional sport teams has long been a controversial topic, with advocates and opponents disagreeing over whether the public benefits sufficiently...more
On March 15, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission” or “SEC”) published in the Federal Register for comment proposed amendments to Rule 15c2-12 (the “Rule”) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934...more
The linked Mintz Levin client advisory discusses a recent Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that held a “make-whole” optional redemption premium to be due upon a refinancing of corporate debt following its automatic...more
Today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in Commonwealth of Puerto Rico v. Franklin California Tax-Free Trust puts an end to one of Puerto Rico’s multi-pronged efforts to deleverage itself. Given the comprehensiveness of the...more
A few thoughts on Tuesday’s oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in the litigation over whether Puerto Rico’s Public Corporations Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act, an insolvency statute for certain of its government...more
3/25/2016
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 9 ,
Congressional Intent ,
Debt Enforcement & Recovery Act (DERA) ,
Debt Relief ,
Impairment of Contracts ,
Insolvency ,
Municipal Bankruptcy ,
Puerto Rico ,
SCOTUS ,
Tenth Amendment
A draft of the U.S. Treasury’s proposed debt restructuring legislation began circulating earlier today. The draft legislation would give Puerto Rico, as well as other U.S. territories, and their municipalities access to U.S....more
It is said that muddy water is best cleared by leaving it be. The Supreme Court’s December 4 decision to review the legality of Puerto Rico’s local bankruptcy law, the Recovery Act, despite a well-reasoned First Circuit...more
The Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014 (ABLE Act), one of the few recent examples of bipartisan cooperation on a new category of tax and budget expenditure, is both well-intentioned in its...more
Last week, the Working Group for the Fiscal and Economic Recovery of Puerto Rico gave the broadest hint yet of the next tactic in Puerto Rico’s ongoing quest to deleverage itself. Although the details have not yet been...more
The IRS’s recently-published proposed regulations for Section 529A qualified ABLE programs have taken some wind out of the sails of state program administrators and potential program managers who had hoped for regulations...more
The IRS today published, right on deadline, its proposed regulations relating to Section 529A state-sponsored “qualified ABLE programs,” under which tax-advantaged investment accounts may be established to fund future...more
A few reactions to today’s oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit regarding the validity of Puerto Rico’s Recovery Act...more
Pi Day comes but once a century, on 3/14/15. The Internal Revenue Service receives praise approximately as frequently. But the IRS deserves applause for its Notice 2015-18, released March 10, 2015, giving the green light to...more
There is little poetry in tobacco bonds these days. Cigarette consumption has declined beyond projections, and the advent of e-cigarettes may exacerbate the decline. Payments under the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) are...more
At the end of “The Candidate”, Robert Redford’s title character, having won, famously asks, “What do we do now?”
A similar question can be asked now that the federal district court in Puerto Rico has struck down the...more
The recently-enacted federal ABLE statute provides a long-awaited vehicle for tax-exempt investing to meet future disability-related expenses of disabled individuals. Although new Section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code is...more