Tribes lobby Congress for equal treatment on tax-free bonds

Monday, March 11, 2013  

Tribes are lobbying Congress for equal treatment in issuing tax-exempt bonds.

Tribes often issue tax-exempt bonds for economic development projects. But the Internal Revenue Service has determined that projects such as casinos and hotels do not represent traditional "government" functions.

Local and state governments, on the other hand, are able to issue tax-exempt bonds regardless of the purpose of the project. Tribes want to be treated in the same manner.

"We want to be included and considered in any sort of tax reform,” Dante Desiderio, the executive director of the Native American Finance Officers Association, told The Washington Post.

The Senate Finance Committee held a meeting with tribes to discuss the issue. The committee is chaired by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), who supports the equal treatment that tribes seek.

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As momentum builds toward tax reform, lobbyists prepare for a fight (The Washington Post 3/9)