Fed Economists Outline Constraints to Tribal Access to Tax-Exempt Market

Native American Law attorney Randolph DelFranco was quoted in a recent article in The Bond Buyer about the effort to broaden tax-exempt financing authority for tribal governments. The article highlighted a paper published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis that cites Congressional Budget Office data in estimating that expanding tribal capital access would cost around $77 billion over the next decade. The paper's authors contend that, despite the cost, the move would enable tribal governments to grow their economies. The paper also detailed the amount of tax-exempt bonds issued by tribes, compared to those issued by state and local governments. Mr. DelFranco, who focuses on Native American law and public finance, weighed in on the juxtaposition.

"I think they're absolutely right," he said. "[Tribes] are definitely not on equal footing with municipalities, and they'd like to get on equal footing."

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