Spearheaded by the P3 Coalition, which is coordinated by the Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure (AIAI), the letter is responding to draft plans that would remove the preferential tax treatment afforded to PABs.
“In a time when all levels of government are struggling to meet their infrastructure needs, PABs are a crucial financing tool,” said the letter, which is addressed to the Senate committee on finance chairman, Orrin Hatch, and ranking member Ron Wyden.
The letter comes afte the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday rejected a Democratic amendment that would have kept the deduction on tax-exempt PABs.
“Preserving PABs, enhancing them for certain infrastructure projects and expanding them to public buildings should be the priority in tax reform, rather than terminating them,” the letter added, warning that ending PABs could see future projects never get built or end up costing significantly more.
It concludes: “We respectfully urge you to preserve the tax-exempt status for PABs or even enhance them for certain infrastructure projects, including transportation and water and waste water projects, as well as expanding them to public buildings.”
To read the full letter, click on the PDF link below.
Industry lobbies Senate on PABs
The US infrastructure industry has sent a letter to the Senate finance committee “in strong support of maintaining the tax exempt status for private activity bonds (PABs).