The U.S. Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service have once again extended the temporary guidance that was originally provided in Rev. Proc. 2020-21, published in May of 2020 during the COVID pandemic. That temporary guidance allowed issuers of private activity bonds to hold the public hearings required by the TEFRA rules by teleconference until December 31, 2020. The release on November 4, 2020 of Rev. Proc. 2020-49 extends the period during which issuers may hold telephonic hearings to September 30, 2021.
Private activity bonds (PAB) are tax-exempt bonds issued by or on behalf of a local or state government for the purpose of providing financing benefits for qualified types projects such projects of as 501(c)3 organizations pursuing their charitable purposes. As the financing is most often used for projects of a private user, the government generally does not pledge its credit. Private activity bonds are sometimes referred to as conduit bonds.