January 7, 2014
According to a municipal bond index by Barclay’s, this year municipal bonds are set to deliver their worst annual performance since 1994. Municipal debt returns have fallen 2.58 percent this year, after giving investors a 10.7 percent return in 2011 and a 6.78 percent return in 2012.
On another front, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, intends to push H.R. 3724, a bill he introduced this month that would prohibit multiple taxes on several digital products such as movies or music. Proponents say these taxes are discriminatory but states object to the measure citing lost revenues and an encroachment of their authority.