Municipal Finance: Structuring Tax-Exempt Finance Models for Local Governments

Description

State law authorizes local governments to secure financing through a number of different methods. Lease-purchase, conditional sales contracts, and COPs are a few examples of the financing tools authorized in many jurisdictions. Lease financing can be used to finance real property, vehicles, and equipment without traditional bond financing methods and voter referendum.

In a typical lease-purchase agreement, a third party acquires the real or personal property and makes it available to the municipality in return for monthly, quarterly or annual payments subject to market conditions and terms negotiated between the local government and lender. COPs are fractionalized interests in lease-purchase contracts sold as securities resembling bonds. They transform a lease or conditional sales contract into a marketable security and require an underwriter or placement agent, as well as all the necessary disclosures to investors and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lease-purchase contracts can be issued on a tax-exempt basis if federal tax requirements are satisfied.

Tax-exempt financing offers local governments a flexible and powerful tool to fund the acquisition of real property and equipment or to finance improvements to existing buildings and property. Despite its many advantages, municipal lawyers must appreciate the risks, understand how these financing models fit into their clients overall fiscal strategy, and learn how to best leverage the engagement of other practitioners like bond and real estate counsel, to take full advantage of its benefits.

Listen as our panel of municipal finance attorneys provides critical insight on structuring tax-exempt lease financing agreements.