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Tax Reform and the Market For Tax-Exempt Debt

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Author Info
James M. Poterba

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Abstract

This paper provides clear evidence that the yield spread between long-term taxable and tax-exempt bonds responds to changes in expected individual tax rates, a finding that refutes theories of municipal bond pricing that focus exclusively on commercial banks or other financial intermediaries. The results support the conclusion that in the two decades prior to 1986, the municipal bond market was segmented, with different investor clienteles at short and long maturities. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 is likely to affect this market, however, since it has restricted tax benefits from tax-exempt bond investment by commercial banks. Individual investors are increasingly important suppliers of capital to states and localities, and their tax rates are likely to be the primary determinant of the yield spread between taxable and tax-exempt interest rates in the future.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 2900.

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Date of creation: Apr 1990
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:2900

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Trzcinka, Charles A, 1982. " The Pricing of Tax-Exempt Bonds and the Miller Hypothesis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 37(4), pages 907-23, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Buser, Stephen A. & Hess, Patrick J., 1986. "Empirical determinants of the relative yields on taxable and tax-exempt securities," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 335-355, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Kochin, Levis A & Parks, Richard W, 1988. " Was the Tax-Exempt Bond Market Inefficient or Were Future Expected Tax Rates Negative?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 43(4), pages 913-31, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Miller, Merton H. & Scholes, Myron S., 1978. "Dividends and taxes," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 333-364, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. James M. Poterba, 1986. "Explaining the Yield Spread between Taxable and Tax-exempt Bonds : The Role of Expected Tax Policy," NBER Chapters, in: Studies in State and Local Public Finance, pages 5-52 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  6. Kidwell, David S & Trzcinka, Charles A, 1982. " Municipal Bond Pricing and the New York City Fiscal Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 37(5), pages 1239-46, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Metcalf, G.E., 1988. "Arbitrage And The Savings Behavior Of The State And Local Governments," Papers 30, Princeton, Woodrow Wilson School - Discussion Paper.
  8. Cutler, David M, 1988. "Tax Reform and the Stock Market: An Asset Price Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(5), pages 1107-17, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Daniel R. Feenberg, 1982. "Does the Investment Interest Limitation Explain the Existence of Dividends?," NBER Working Papers 0530, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Miller, Merton H, 1977. "Debt and Taxes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 261-75, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Roger H. Gordon & Joel B. Slemrod, 1986. "An Empirical Examination of Municipal Financial Policy," NBER Chapters, in: Studies in State and Local Public Finance, pages 53-82 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Gilbert Metcalf, 1993. "Federal Taxation and the Supply of State Debt," NBER Working Papers 3255, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Jeffrey K. MacKie-Mason & Roger H. Gordon, 1991. "How Much Do Taxes Discourage Incorporation," NBER Working Papers 3781, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Tina Klautke & Alfons Weichenrieder, 2008. "Interest Income Tax Evasion, the EU Savings Directive, and Capital Market Effects," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  4. Junbo Wang & Chunchi Wu & Frank Zhang, 2005. "Liquidity, default, taxes and yields on municipal bonds," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2005-35, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
  5. Merle Erickson & Austan Goolsbee & Edward Maydew, 2002. "How Prevalent is Tax Arbitrage? Evidence from the Market for Municipal Bonds," NBER Working Papers 9105, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Mark L. Gertler & R. Glenn Hubbard, 1990. "Taxation, Corporate Capital Structure, and Financial Distress," NBER Working Papers 3202, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. James M. Poterba & Kim S. Rueben, 1997. "State Fiscal Institutions and the U.S. Municipal Bond Market," NBER Working Papers 6237, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. James M. Poterba & John B. Shoven & Clemens Sialm, 2000. "Asset Location for Retirement Savers," NBER Working Papers 7991, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. David F. Babbel & Craig B. Merrill & Mark F. Meyer & Meiring de Villiers, 2001. "The Effect of Transaction Size on Off-the-Run Treasury Prices," Center for Financial Institutions Working Papers 01-03, Wharton School Center for Financial Institutions, University of Pennsylvania. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. N. Gregory Mankiw & James M. Poterba, 1996. "Stock Market Yields and the Pricing of Municipal Bonds," NBER Working Papers 5607, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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