By David M. DiSegna On Monday August 3, 2020, Rhode Island Commerce will begin accepting applications for “Restore RI” grants for small businesses. The new program will provide grants of up to $15,000 to Rhode Island businesses with 1-20 employees and restaurants and caterers of any size. Additional details have recently been released on the...
By Eugene G. Bernardo II and David M. DiSegna Two bills have recently been introduced in the U.S. Senate to help state and local bond issuers deal with the financial hardships caused by COVID-19. The Lifting Our Communities through Advance Liquidity for Infrastructure Act (S.4129) (the “LOCAL Infrastructure Act”) would reinstate tax-exempt advance refunding bonds,...
By Eugene G. Bernardo II and David M. DiSegna The Federal Reserve Board has expanded the number and type of governmental entities eligible to utilize the Municipal Liquidity Facility (MLF) that was established to help state and local governments manage cash flow pressures caused by the coronavirus. Under the revised eligibility requirements, all states will...
The Small Business Reorganization Act (SBRA) goes into effect on February 19, 2020. The SBRA creates a new Subchapter V to Chapter 11, expanding access to bankruptcy relief for small businesses. With a debt ceiling of approximately $2.75 million, small business owners can take advantage of the new subchapter’s streamlined procedures and powerful tools to...
In August, the President signed into law the Small Business Reorganization Act (SBRA) of 2019 (it will become fully effective February 2020), which includes several meaningful changes for both business and consumer bankruptcies. Highlighted below are three of those changes. 1. SMALL BUSINESSES. The SBRA creates a new subchapter to Chapter 11, to help small...
By Eugene G. Bernardo II and David M. DiSegna House Bill 3967, titled the “Municipal Bond Market Support Act of 2019”, was introduced by Alabama Representative Terri Sewell and New York Representative Tom Reed with the purpose of increasing the amount of tax-exempt bonds that may be issued as bank qualified obligations. According to their...
By Eugene G. Bernardo II and David M. DiSegna IRS Notice 2019-39 sets forth certain requirements for preserving the tax-exempt or tax-advantaged status of current refunding bonds that are issued to refinance bonds that were originally issued under targeted bond programs. From time to time, Congress has established these statutory programs to facilitate lower borrowing...
By Eugene G. Bernardo II or David M. DiSegna The IRS has released a Private Letter Ruling that approves a simplified method of calculating the remaining economic life of property financed with exempt facility bonds. Section 142 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) defines exempt facility bonds (which are tax-exempt under the Code) as bonds that...
By Eugene G. Bernardo II or David M. DiSegna On December 31, 2018, the IRS issued new regulations governing public approval requirements for tax-exempt private activity bonds under 26 U.S.C. § 147(f), which were originally enacted as part of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, or TEFRA. The regulations make several significant changes to...
By Eugene G. Bernardo II and David M. DiSegna Section 13532 of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “2017 Act”) eliminated the tax exemption for interest on advance refunding bonds (defined as bonds issued more than 90 days before the redemption of the bonds to be refunded). However, after the 2017 Act’s...
