To promote economic growth in tribal communities, Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published new guidance on July 18, 2012, allocating Tribal Economic Development Bonds (TEDBs). The TEDB program was established under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, and provides Tribes with the authority to issue tax-exempt debt for a wider range of activities to spur job creation and promote economic growth in Indian country. Providing Tribes with the ability to issue tax-exempt debt for a broader scope of activities similar to that available to states and local governments lowers Tribes’ borrowing costs, making it easier to engage in new economic development projects
Under the new guidance, Tribes can receive TEDB allocations for projects that are in the final stages of going to the market to receive financing. Once a Tribe receives an allocation, it will have six months to move to final debt issuance. If a Tribe is unable to issue within that time frame the allocation will be returned to Treasury and available for redistributions. Treasury currently has about $1.8 billion remaining in TEDB authority. To help ensure an equitable distribution, no single allocation can exceed 20 percent of the remaining amount, meaning that the current maximum single allocation is approximately $360 million. When there is less than $500 million in TEDBs authority remaining, the maximum allocation will be $100 million.
Read more on the Treasury website.
.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs
