Tax-Exempt Municipal Bonds

Justin Formas, Alison White

Tax-exempt municipal bonds have been a critical source of capital for states and municipalities and, as a readily available financing vehicle, support one of the nation’s most consistent and reliable sources of job creation. This paper analyzes 117 years of tax‐exempt municipal financing history to enlighten today’s debate with historical perspective. The tax-exempt municipal market does not need to be restructured. Instead, its status needs to be reaffirmed so that it can keep on doing its job without forcing new and unnecessary burdens on issuers, investors and taxpayers.

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