On Friday, Investors Business Daily (IBD) reported on leaked government documents identifying what employer-provided health plans can and cannot do if they wish to retain their "grandfathered" status under the statist health care legislation commonly known as ObamaCare that became law on March 23. One of the items in the government document (83-page PDF) is the following table, which estimates the percentages of large and small employers who will choose to (or be financially forced to) "relinquish" (i.e., give up) their grandfathered status: In ironic timing, Walecia Konrad at the New York Times, in a personal finance column that appeared in the paper's Saturday print edition and which was probably written shortly before IBD's report, inadvertently revealed that ObamaCare itself may be a reason why employer "relinquishments" over the next three years come in well above the mid-range estimates in the table:
Municipal bonds are debt securities issued by local governments to fund public projects like schools, hospitals, or highways.
Investors buy municipal bonds because interest earned is exempt from federal income taxes, and in some cases, from state and local taxes.
Because they are tax-efficient investment, municipal bonds are best for taxable accounts as opposed to tax-advantaged retirement accounts.
Imagine a relatively safe, long-term investment that generates income, allows you to save on taxes, and funds public projects crucial a community.
That s essentially what happens when you invest in municipal bonds, which allow you to invest in the infrastructure of state and local communities while adding diversity and tax efficiency to your portfolio.