This evening, the Republicans in Congress released the Tax Bill. It will no doubt touch off a lively debate.
Putting that aside, an update on the Infrastructure aspects of the Tax Bill:
Most significanly for our purpose, the Republicans sided with the Senate preference and maintained Private Activity Bonds. These bonds are used to finance airports, water, bridges, waste, cultural institutions, schools, housing, and other areas. They deploy private sector companies to get these projects done.
Private activity bonds are an important aspect of President Trump's infrastructure plan. Notably, this plan -- as it stands -- incorporates common sense bipartisan values. Ones which both parties have embraced for decades.
Interesting, the drop in corporate tax rates will impact upon the attractiveness of infrastructure bonds for certain groups.
The Tax Bill unsurprisingly gets rid of the ability of government entities to refinance bonds when interest rates drop. Both the House and Senate have been on the same page of this one for some time.
So, we should see much more infrastructure in the New Year with the Tax Bill.
The fact that over 50-pieces of Republican, Democratic, and Bipartisan pieces of infrastructure legislation are in Congress right now bodes well. The Administration in January will issue legislative guidance to move its bill through.
Regardless of what we think of the Tax Bill, on either side of the aisle, Infrastructure is at its core bipartisan. Don't let the pages of the Wall Street Journal and New York Times be your full picture here -- the Trump Plan's values could just as easily be called a Democrat one.
If you would like additional information or if I can be of assistance thinking through how these changes impact upon your own institutional plans, please do per usual be in touch.
Michael