NACo Call to Action – Urge House Members to Support Tax Exemption for Municipal Bond Interest

As previously reported on Conduit Street, NACo recently released a report, Municipal Bonds Build America: A County Perspective on Changing the Tax-Exempt Status of Municipal Bond Interest, which provides an analysis of the municipal bond market and the estimated impact of capping or repealing the tax-exempt status of municipal bond interest.

NACo is also calling on counties to take action as this issue is debated in Congress.  From the NACo electronic message:

As the debate on tax reform continues on the Hill, NACo urges counties to continue to engage their Members to stress the importance of municipal bonds and the role they play in building our local communities. Currently, the two tax-writing committees in Congress (Senate Finance, House Ways and Means) have all but completed the process of gathering external stakeholder input on options for tax reform. Although the time for committee members to begin putting pen to paper to draft tax reform plans is near, below are ways that counties can still be involved:

  • Urge your House Representatives to sign onto the “Dear Colleague” letter to House leadership in support of the tax exemption for municipal bond interest currently being circulated by Reps. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) and Randy Hultgren (R-IL). The deadline for signatures is Wednesday, June 26
  • Ask your House Representatives to cosponsor H.Res.112. The resolution, led by Reps. Lee Terry (R-NE) and Richard Neal (D-MA), celebrates the history of municipal bonds and the important role they play in building our nation
  • Contact your Senators and Representatives and ask that they protect the tax exemption for municipal bond interest, which has been part of the federal income tax code for over 100 years
  • During the July 4 and August recesses, schedule visits for your delegation to see projects financed by municipal bonds

NACo has prepared a “Call to Action” presentation to assist with contacting your Congressional Delegation.

For legislative questions, contact NACo Associate Legislative Director Mike Belarmino at mbelarmino@naco.org or 202.942.4254.