House leaders get pro-muni-exemption letter

The municipal bond market's dogged efforts to prevent President Barack Obama from tinkering with the 100-year-old tax exemption for muni bond income has received high-profile support from 137 lawmakers. A letter supporting the status quo for the muni tax exemption, signed by 92 House Democrats and 45 Republicans, was delivered last Tuesday to Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. In addition to pointing out that over the past decade, muni bonds have funded more than $1.9 trillion in infrastructure construction, including $179 billion last year, the letter asks Mr. Boehner and Ms. Pelosi not to support the president's budget proposal to cap the muni bond tax exemption at 28%. “Eliminating or capping the current deduction on municipal bonds would severely curtail state and local governments' ability to invest in themselves. It would increase borrowing costs to public entities and shift costs to local residents through tax or rate increases,” the letter states. Even though this level of tax reform isn't considered a priority for the Obama administration, the muni bond market is taking no chances and sees this letter as a positive sign for the $4 trillion market. “This is not legislation; it's just a letter, and members of Congress publicly support stuff all the time. But when you have this many co-signers and this much bipartisan support, it shows real understanding and support up on Capitol Hill,” said Mike Nicholas, chief executive of Bond Dealers of America. “It's impossible to say with any certainty if there's a chance of this 28% cap happening, but the fact is, it's clearly on the table,” he said. “We know there's support from the White House and the Treasury to cap or eliminate the exemption.” The lack of support in Congress for a cap could be a double-edged sword, said Peter Coffin, president of Breckinridge Capital Advisors Inc. “Nobody in Congress is really fighting for the 28% exemption, which makes me worry that it could end up getting bargained away,” he said. “In spite of the fact nobody is in favor of it outside of the administration, I think it's still a threat.” The exemption that allows income on muni bond income to be earned tax-free was established as part of the original 20-page income tax code, written in 1913.