Issue for 1921/22 contains a digest of papers and addresses presented before the 17th annual convention of the Associated advertising clubs of the world.
The outstanding amount of state and local gov¿t. tax-exempt bonds has increased over the years. Congress is interested in whether the bonds are used for appropriate purposes since the fed. gov¿t. forgoes billions in tax revenues annually by excluding the bonds¿ interest from investors¿ fed. gross income. Questions also exist over the bonds¿ borrowing costs as they can divert funds from the funded projects. This report: (1) describes recent trends in tax exempt bonds; (2) provides information on the types of facilities financed with tax-exempt bonds; and (3) discusses borrowing costs considering the methods of selling bonds and compares issuance costs paid from bond proceeds for governmental and qualified private activity bonds. Charts.
The fed. gov¿t. supports infrastructure investment in a variety of ways. The most common means of providing a tax subsidy for infrastructure investment -- by offering a tax exemption for interest on state and local bonds -- is generally viewed to be inefficient. This study assesses the role of tax preferences in infrastructure investment in the U.S. It discusses the types of tax preferences for state and local bonds, reports the amount of such debt that has been issued for infrastructure projects undertaken by the public and private sectors, and estimates the importance of that debt financing to infrastructure investment. Charts and tables.