House Includes Private Activity Bonds in Small Business Jobs Tax Act Passage

On March 24th, the House passed the Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act (HR 4849).  While the original measure is not directly applicable for drinking water programs and deals principally with tax benefits for small businesses, the bill language also incorporated a separate piece of legislation — The Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act (HR 537) — that amends the IRS code to exempt private facility bonds for water and sewer supplies from a state volume cap.  ASDWA has learned that the measure also now includes capital expenditures for levies and other flood control projects and offers Indian Tribes the opportunity to issue tax-exempt bonds.  The volume cap exemption for water and wastewater private activity bonds is of particular interest to our water community partners at the National Association of Water Companies.

HR 4849 will be sent to the Senate for consideration where it is likely to be referred to the Finance Committee.  As of this writing, there is no companion legislation in the Senate.