Today, BDA submitted a comment letter to IRS in response to its request for comment on a proposed rule to re-define ‘issue price’. The proposal partially withdraws the 2013 issue price proposal.
The BDA’s draft letter focuses on:
- Problems for issuers and the marketplace that will be caused by an actual sales approach and the absence of a reasonable expectation standard
- Issues associated with the unworkable proposed alternative to the general rule, including compliance concerns
- The rule’s negative impact on smaller issuers, especially due to the 10% maturity-by-maturity ‘substantial amount’/actual-sales requirement
- The need for a safe harbor or alternative standard for competitive deals
BDA’s previous issue price letters, including the BDA letter to IRS in May 2015 can be read here.