[4830-01-u] DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service 26 CFR Parts 1 and 602 [TD 8712] RIN 1545-AU62 Definition of Private Activity Bonds AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. ACTION: Final regulations. SUMMARY: This document contains final regulations on the definition of private activity bonds applicable to tax-exempt bonds issued by state and local governments. These final regulations reflect changes to the applicable law that were made by the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988. These regulations affect issuers of tax-exempt bonds and provide needed guidance for applying the private activity bond restrictions. DATES: These regulations are effective May 16, 1997. For dates of applicability of these regulations, see 1.141-15, 1.141-16, 1.148-6(a)(3) and 1.148-6(d)(1)(iii) of these regulations. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Loretta J. Finger or Nancy M. Lashnits, (202) 622-3980 (not a toll-free number). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Paperwork Reduction Act The collections of information contained in these final regulations have been reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3507) under control number 1545-1451. Responses to these collections of information are mandatory. Pursuant to comments received, the collections of information have been amended, but the estimated annual burden per respondent/recordkeeper has not changed. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a valid control number. The estimated average annual burden hours per respondent/recordkeeper: 3 hours. Comments concerning the accuracy of this burden estimate and suggestions for reducing this burden should be sent to the Internal Revenue Service, Attn: IRS Reports Clearance Officer, T:FP, Washington, DC 20024, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for the Department of the Treasury, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Washington, DC 20503. Books or records relating to collections of information must be retained as long as their contents may become material in the administration of any internal revenue law. Generally, tax returns and tax return information are confidential, as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103. Background Removal of existing regulations for repealed sections Prior to the enactment of the Tax Reduction and Simplification Act of 1977 (Pub. L. 95-30), sections 141 through 144 contained provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 relating to the standard deduction. Sections 141 ("Standard Deduction"), 142 ("Individuals Not Eligible for Standard Deduction"), and 144 ("Election of Standard Deduction") were repealed by section 101(d)(1) of that act. Section 143 ("Determination of Marital Status") was redesignated section 7703 by section 1301(j)(2) of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-514). Therefore, existing regulations 1.141-1, 1.142-1, 1.142-2, 1.144-1, 1.144-2, and 1.144-3 are being removed from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), and regulation 1.143-1 is being redesignated 1.7703-1. Proposed Regulations On December 30, 1994, proposed regulations (FI-72-88) were published in the Federal Register (59 FR 67658) to provide guidance under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code) in sections 141 (relating to private activity bonds and to qualified bonds), 142 (relating to exempt-facility bonds), 145 (relating to qualified 501(c)(3) bonds), 147 (relating to other requirements applicable to certain private activity bonds), 148 (relating to arbitrage), 150 (relating to change of use), and 1394 (relating to enterprise zone facility bonds). All subsequent references in this preamble to Code sections are to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. On June 8, 1995, the IRS held a public hearing on the proposed regulations. Written comments responding to the proposed regulations were received. On May 31, 1996, final regulations (FI-72-88) were published in the Federal Register (61 FR 106) to provide guidance under Code section 1394 to address the issues relating to enterprise zone facility bonds. After consideration of all the comments, certain of the proposed regulations under Code sections 141, 142, 144, 145, 147, 148, and 150 are adopted as revised by this Treasury decision. The principal revisions to the proposed regulations are discussed below. Explanation of Provisions Certain commentators suggested that the proposed regulations, with certain modifications, be published again as proposed regulations. A number of other commentators suggested that the proposed regulations, with certain modifications, should be promulgated as final regulations to provide certainty at the earliest possible time. After considering these comments, the IRS and Treasury concluded that state and local government issuers would benefit from the adoption of the proposed regulations, with certain modifications made in response to comments, as final regulations. A. Section 1.141-1 Definitions and rules of general application. Replaced amounts. The proposed regulations provide that the proceeds taken into account under the private activity bond tests include certain replacement proceeds that are reasonably expected to be available during the project period. The final regulations treat replaced amounts also as arising to the extent that the issuer reasonably expects that the term of the issue will be longer than is reasonably necessary for the governmental purposes of the issue, in the same manner as replacement proceeds arise under the arbitrage regulations under Code section 148. Thus, replaced amounts may arise under the private activity bond tests if an issuer reasonably expects that there will be available amounts during the period that the bonds remain outstanding longer than necessary for the governmental purposes of the issue and if those amounts are used for purposes that are inconsistent with the private activity bond tests. B. Section 1.141-2 Private activity bond tests. 1. Clarification of reasonable expectations test. Under the proposed regulations the private activity bond tests depend on both reasonable expectations as of the issue date and subsequent deliberate actions of the issuer. The final regulations clarify that, in general, the reasonable expectations test is met only if the issuer reasonably expects, as of the issue date, that no action or event during the entire term of the bonds will cause either the private business tests or the private loan financing test to be met. The final regulations further provide, however, that, if certain conditions are met, the period of expected compliance needs to extend only to a mandatory redemption date. This special rule is intended to accommodate issuers that reasonably expect that bond-financed property may be used by nongovernmental persons during the stated term of the issue, but have not entered into any arrangement with a nongovernmental person that will use the property and are unable to predict the timing of that nongovernmental use. This special rule does not permit, however, reasonably expected "recycling" of disposition proceeds because the special rule requires redemption of all nonqualified bonds. 2. Definition of deliberate action. The proposed regulations generally provide that any action within the control of an issuer is treated as a deliberate action and that, if the financed property was designed differently than is reasonably necessary for the governmental purposes of the issuer, an action with respect to that property is treated as deliberate, even if it is not within the issuer's control. Commentators suggested that deliberate action should be more narrowly defined. The final regulations make certain changes that narrow the scope of the deliberate action rule to minimize administrative burden on state and local governments. First, the special rule for property that is "designed differently" is deleted. The reasonable expectations test adequately addresses the concerns of this special rule. Second, the final regulations clarify that an action taken by a state or local government in response to a regulatory directive of the federal government is not a deliberate action. Finally, the final regulations provide that, if certain conditions are met, dispositions of personal property in the ordinary course of an established governmental program are not treated as a deliberate action. 3. Special rule for general obligation bond programs that finance a large number of separate purposes. The proposed regulations provide a special exception to the definition of disposition proceeds that is intended to minimize the administrative burden of tracing the use of proceeds of general obligation bonds that finance a large number of projects. Commentators suggested that this exception should be available for other types of bonds and that fewer conditions should apply to the exception. The final regulations provide a similar rule that is broadly stated as an exception to the rule that a deliberate action after the issue date can cause an issue to meet the private activity bond tests. This exception is intended to provide relief for "cash flow" general obligation programs, where issuers use the proceeds of an issue for a large number of projects and spend proceeds promptly. These programs merit special treatment in part because they further the purposes of the arbitrage rules. 4. When a deliberate action occurs. The proposed regulations provide that a deliberate action occurs on the earlier of the date the parties agree on the consideration for the new use or the date on which the new use occurs. Commentators suggested that the regulations should not treat a deliberate action as occurring before the date on which new private business use actually commences, in part because it may not be possible to take a remedial action with disposition proceeds before the date on which the disposition proceeds are received. The final regulations provide in general that a deliberate action occurs on the date the issuer enters into a binding contract with a nongovernmental person for use of the financed property that is not subject to any material contingencies. In most cases, material conditions to closing a transaction that results in private business use will be treated as material contingencies so that this date will not occur before the date of receipt of disposition proceeds. C. Section 1.141-3 Definition of private business use. 1. Economic benefit as private business use. Under the proposed regulations, economic benefit to a nongovernmental person may be treated as private business use, even if the nongovernmental person has no special legal rights to use the financed property. Commentators suggested that the private business use test should not be met unless special legal rights are provided to a nongovernmental person pursuant to an arrangement, and that mere economic benefit is insufficient to give rise to private business use. The final regulations largely adopt these suggestions. The final regulations provide, however, that, if the financed property is not available for use by the general public, a nongovernmental person may be treated as a private business user of the property based on all of the facts and circumstances, even if that nongovernmental person has no special legal entitlements to use of the property. 2. Ownership. The proposed regulations provide that ownership of property by a nongovernmental person is private business use of that property. Commentators suggested that ownership for this purpose should be defined to mean ownership for general federal income tax purposes and that mere holding of title to property by a nongovernmental person should not necessarily give rise to private business use. Commentators further suggested that certain customary financing structures that require a nongovernmental person to be a nominal owner of financed property should be accommodated. The final regulations adopt these suggestions. 3. Discharge of a primary legal obligation. The proposed regulations provide that the use of bond proceeds to provide property that discharges a primary and unconditional legal obligation of a nongovernmental person results in private business use of that property. Commentators suggested that this rule be deleted from the final regulations. Many commentators indicated that this rule would interfere with traditional tax assessment bond financings for governmental projects such as roads and sidewalks. Some commentators also indicated that certain state and local governments may be required or encouraged under state law to enter into development agreements with private developers that could result in private business use of governmental projects under the discharge of a primary legal obligation rule. The final regulations adopt this comment by deleting this rule. 4. Management contracts. The proposed regulations provide that management contracts other than qualified management contracts result in private business use of the managed property. Commentators suggested that the qualified management contract rules should be safe harbors, not substantive rules, and that a management contract should give rise to private business use only if it transfers a proprietary interest in financed property to a manager that is a nongovernmental person. Commentators suggested that the permissible contract terms for qualified management contracts should be further extended and that limitations on the contract term based on useful life of the financed property should be deleted. In addition, commentators suggested that contracts for incidental services, such as janitorial and equipment repair services, should never give rise to private business use of financed property. The final regulations provide more flexible accommodation for management contracts that implement cost-saving "privatization" measures for state and local governments, but continue to reflect the view that Congress intended that a management contract can give rise to private business use even if it does not in substance transfer a leasehold or ownership interest to a nongovernmental person for general federal income tax purposes. Thus, the final regulations do not adopt the rule that a management contract gives rise to private business use only if it transfers a proprietary interest to a nongovernmental service provider. The final regulations provide that the determination of whether a management contract that does not meet the qualified management contract safe harbors gives rise to private business use is based on all of the facts and circumstances. In general, a management contract gives rise to private business use if the compensation under the contract is based on net profits. The final regulations further provide, however, that contracts for services solely incidental to the primary governmental function or functions of a financed facility do not otherwise give rise to private business use under the management contract rules. In addition, the final regulations clarify the standards to be applied in determining whether a management contract is properly characterized as a lease. A separate revenue procedure establishes safe harbors which expand the types of management contracts that do not result in private business use. This revenue procedure in particular permits longer term management contracts for public utility facilities and systems, relaxes certain of the requirements for permitted compensation arrangements, and deletes the requirement that the issuer not control the service provider. 5. Research agreements. The proposed regulations set forth bright line rules for determining when corporate-sponsored research agreements and cooperative research agreements do not give rise to private business use. These rules apply only to basic research. The final regulations provide a facts and circumstances rule, and a separate revenue procedure establishes safe harbors for determining when corporate-sponsored research agreements and cooperative research agreements do not give rise to private business use. This revenue procedure also expands the definition of basic research, for purposes of Code section 141, to include any original investigation for the advancement of scientific knowledge not having a specific commercial objective. 6. Exception for general public use. The proposed regulations contain detailed quantitative rules for determining when use of financed property by a nongovernmental person is disregarded because the nongovernmental person is treated as using the property as a member of the general public. The proposed regulations also provide that use by a nongovernmental person of financed property is not treated as general public use if the property provides a significant economic benefit to the nongovernmental person because it is functionally and integrally related to other property used by the nongovernmental person. Commentators suggested that the quantitative rules for defining general public use should be deleted, because they are not sufficiently flexible to accommodate the wide variety of state and local government financings and because they disproportionately affect small local governments. The final regulations largely delete the quantitative approach in the proposed regulations for general public use. Instead, the final regulations adopt a more qualitative test focusing on whether financed property is intended to be available and in fact is reasonably available for use on the same basis by natural persons not engaged in a trade or business. This approach is more consistent with the requirement in Code section 141 that any activity carried on by a person that is not a natural person is treated as a trade or business activity. Because the final regulations generally do not treat mere economic benefit as private business use, the rules for functionally and integrally related property are deleted. In light of this narrower definition of private business use, the special system improvement rules have also been deleted. The final regulations retain the rule in the proposed regulations that use under an arrangement that conveys priority rights is not use on the same basis as the general public and clarifies that an arrangement for long-term use (defined as more than 180 days) is not treated as general public use. The final regulations provide that use of financed property by a nongovernmental person that is not general public use is not necessarily private business use. Under the approach taken in the final regulations, the definition of general public use is significant for determining when economic benefit alone can give rise to private business use and for determining the permitted terms of short-term arrangements that are not treated as private business use. 7. Exceptions for short-term arrangements. The proposed regulations provide that a lease or similar arrangement that has a term of 1 year or less and that is not renewed or renewable is generally disregarded. Commentators suggested that longer term arrangements should be disregarded. The final regulations provide different exceptions for various short-term contracts. The exceptions for short-term contracts are based on a hierarchy depending on how broadly contracts with the same terms are offered to other users. Under this approach, a contract that is available to the general public may have a term up to 180 days; a contract not treated as general public use, but offered on the basis of generally applicable or uniformly applied rates, may have a term of up to 90 days; and a specially negotiated contract that provides fair market value compensation may have a term of up to 30 days. In each case, the exception applies only if the property is not financed for a principal purpose of providing that property for use by the nongovernmental person entering into the contract. The final regulations delete the 1-year exception for non-renewable short-term contracts because the final regulations adopt a more flexible rule for measuring private business use, as discussed below. 8. Exception for temporary use by developers. The proposed regulations provide an exception for temporary use by a developer of an improvement that carries out an essential governmental function during an initial development period not exceeding 3 years. Commentators suggested that the 3-year limitation on the exception is too short for many developments and that a requirement that development proceed with reasonable speed should suffice. The final regulations largely adopt this comment. This approach focuses more on whether financed property serving an essential governmental function is transferred to a governmental person with reasonable speed than on a specific time frame for development of the property benefited by the improvement. 9. Exceptions for incidental use and qualified improvements. The final regulations remove certain conditions to exceptions for incidental use and qualified improvements. 10. Measurement of private business use. The proposed regulations generally provide that private business use is measured on an annual basis, except for private business use of output facilities. Commentators suggested that private business use should be measured on an average or cumulative basis over the term of an issue. The final regulations largely adopt the suggestion that private business use should be measured over the term of an issue. In general, the percentage of private business use of financed property is determined according to the average annual private business use of that property over the measurement period. The measurement period begins on the later of the issue date of the issue or the date the property is placed in service and ends on the earlier of the last date of the reasonably expected economic life of the property or the latest maturity date of any bond of the issue. For certain bonds that are issued in contemplation of refinancing, such as bond anticipation notes, the measurement period is based on the final maturity date of any bond of the refunding issue. Under an anti-abuse rule, however, if an issuer extends the term of an issue for a principal purpose of increasing the permitted amount of private business use, the Commissioner may determine the amount of private business use according to the greatest percentage of private business use in any 1-year period. Further, if an issuer reasonably expects on the issue date that bonds will be redeemed before the final maturity of the issue because of a deliberate action, the measurement period ends on the reasonably expected date of redemption. In addition, for arrangements that result in ownership of financed property by a nongovernmental person, the amount of private business use is the greatest percentage of private business use in any 1-year period. This approach of looking to the average amount of private business use over the expected economic life of financed property is more consistent with the approach adopted for measuring private payments and security, which also in effect looks over the term of an issue. This approach also provides issuers with significantly greater flexibility to spread out de minimis private business use over the term of an issue. The final regulations adopt the measurement-over-the-term rule for private business use, however, only for purposes of determining whether an issue has no more than the permitted amount of private business use (that is, in most cases, the 10 percent threshold). This general approach reflects the view that adoption of the measurement-over-the-term rule for purposes other than the de minimis rules would be unduly complex to administer and could distort the economic substance. This general approach also simplifies the regulations by providing a single rule for measuring private business use that applies to both output facilities and other governmental facilities. The final regulations reflect the view that all governmental facilities generally would benefit from more flexible private business use measurement rules. 11. Determining average use within an annual period. The proposed regulations generally provide that the average amount of private business use within a year is based on the amount of time financed property is actually used for private business use as a percentage of total time for all actual use, provided that significant differences in fair market value of different times of use must be taken into account. Some commentators suggested that the average amount of private business use should be based on a comparison of time of private business use to time the financed property is available for use, not to time it is actually used. The final regulations continue to determine private business use for certain purposes as a percentage of actual use. This method more accurately reflects economic substance. The final regulations also clarify that, in certain cases, the determination of fair market value of private business use must take into account the amount of private payments for that use. D. Section 1.141-4 Private security or payment test. 1. Payments not directly made by private business users. The proposed regulations provide that payments made with respect to property used for a private business use are taken into account under the private payment test, even if not made by persons that are private business users of proceeds. Commentators suggested that payments by persons that are not private business users should be taken into account only if they can be imputed to a private business user of proceeds. The final regulations retain the general rule in the proposed regulations but clarify that only payments made for the period of private business use are taken into account. The definition of private business use in the final regulations narrows the application of this general rule. 2. Allocation of private payments to different sources of funding. The proposed regulations provide that a payment from a private business user of property may be allocated first to repay any costs of the property paid by the issuer from a source other than a borrowing ("equity"). The proposed regulations also provide, however, that, if a payment is made for property financed with two or more issues (including issues that are not tax-exempt), the payment must be allocated among those issues according to the relative amount of proceeds of those issues used to finance the property. Commentators generally favored the rule permitting allocations first to equity, but suggested that the same rule should apply to costs financed with taxable bonds. The final regulations provide a more general facts and circumstances test for the allocation of private payments that looks to the nexus between the private payment and both the property financed and the source of funding. Thus, under the approach of the final regulations, allocations of private payments first to equity before other sources of funding are generally permitted only to the extent that there is a specific nexus between the payment and a prior expenditure. The final regulations do not adopt the recommendation that issuers also be permitted in all cases to allocate private payments first to repayment of taxable bonds, but treat the obligation to pay debt service in future years under the taxable debt as establishing a nexus to future private payments. The final regulations retain the rule that allocations of private payments among issues according to relative amounts of those sources of funding that are expended on the property is generally appropriate, but the final regulations provide issuers with more flexibility to match these allocations to debt service payments associated with various sources of funding. 3. Allocation of private security among issues. The proposed regulations provide that, for bonds other than parity bonds, property or payments securing more than one issue must be fully allocated to each issue under the private security test. Commentators suggested that the rule for allocation of private security among issues should reasonably reflect foreclosure and default scenarios under the bond documents. The final regulations in general adopt this comment. 4. Limitations on private security. The proposed regulations provide that any property that is used for a private business use is taken into account under the private security test if it secures payment of debt service on an issue. The final regulations provide that only financed property and property that is provided directly or indirectly by a nongovernmental person that is treated as a user of proceeds are taken into account under the private security test. 5. Exception for generally applicable taxes. The proposed regulations contain specific rules for when a special agreement with respect to a generally applicable tax may cause tax payments to be treated as private payments. In response to comments, the final regulations are more flexible for arrangements that reduce the amount of tax paid and permit a wider range of tax equivalency payments. The final regulations also clarify that an impermissible agreement entered into by one taxpayer does not affect whether payments made by other taxpayers are treated as generally applicable taxes. E. Section 1.141-5 Private loan financing test. 1. Definition of proceeds for purposes of the private loan financing test. The proposed regulations provide that the private loan financing test is met if more than the lesser of 5 percent of the "proceeds" or $5 million of "sale proceeds" is used to make or finance loans to nongovernmental persons. Commentators suggested that the definition of proceeds for purposes of the test should be consistent. The final regulations apply the general private activity bond definition of "proceeds" to both parts of the test. This approach reflects the view that investment proceeds that are used to make or finance loans should be taken into account in determining whether the private loan financing test is met. 2. Requirements for the "tax assessment loan" exception. The proposed regulations provide that a number of special requirements apply to the exception in Code section 141(c)(2) from the private loan financing test for loans that enable the borrower to finance a governmental tax or assessment of general application for a specific essential governmental function. Commentators suggested that these requirements would improperly restrict traditional special tax and assessment tax-exempt financing for governmental infrastructure in some states. In general, special state law restrictions (for example, state constitutional limitations on issuing general obligation bonds) should not necessarily foreclose state and local governments from access to tax-exempt financing for traditional governmental infrastructure projects. Accordingly, the final regulations relax the requirements for the tax assessment bond exception. The requirement that a tax or assessment of general application be proportionate to the benefit to the taxpayer is deleted. Further, the definition of improvements that serve essential governmental functions is expanded. Under the new definition, all improvements to utilities and systems that are owned by a governmental person and that are available for use by the general public serve essential governmental functions for this purpose. In addition, the final regulations provide that guarantees provided by persons treated as borrowers in most cases will not cause taxes or assessments to fail to qualify for the tax assessment bond exception. F. Section 1.141-6 Allocation and accounting rules. 1. Allocations of proceeds to expenditures. The proposed regulations in general provide that proceeds must be allocated to expenditures consistently for private activity bond purposes and arbitrage purposes. Commentators suggested that, in light of the different purposes of the private activity bond rules and the arbitrage rules, this consistency should not be required. The final regulations continue the approach of the proposed regulations. Final regulations are also adopted under Code section 148 clarifying that allocations of proceeds to expenditures for both purposes must be made by a definite time (in no event later than the date that rebate is, or would be, due). 2. Other allocation rules. The proposed regulations contain detailed rules in 1.141-1 and 1.141-6 for allocations of proceeds and bonds, including rules for mixed use facilities and partnerships. The final regulations reserve these provisions. The IRS and Treasury are considering more flexible rules to accommodate public/private partnerships. G. Section 1.141-7 Special rules for output contracts. The proposed regulations contain detailed rules in 1.141-7 for determining the private business use and private payments resulting from output contracts. Regulatory changes are dramatically affecting the electric power industry. In order to further consider the issues raised by these changes, the final regulations reserve this section. The final regulations, however, otherwise apply to bonds issued to finance output facilities. H. Section 1.141-8 $15 million limitation for output facilities. Clarification of computation of nonqualified amount. The proposed regulations provide guidance on the special $15 million limitation on output facilities of Code section 141(b)(4). The final regulations reserve this section. I. Section 1.141-12 Remedial actions. 1. Remedial actions generally. The proposed regulations provide that an action that causes the private business tests or the private loan financing test to be met is not treated as a deliberate action if the issuer takes an appropriate remedial action. The final regulations clarify that a remedial action affects only compliance with the private activity bond rules relating to use of proceeds and does not affect compliance with rules relating to security or payment. This clarification is important for purposes of determining the amount of "nonqualified bonds" with respect to which a remedial action must be taken. 2. Relationship of disposition proceeds and remedial actions. The proposed regulations contain separate rules for use of proceeds derived from the disposition of bond-financed property ("disposition proceeds") and remedial actions. Commentators suggested that the relationship between the disposition proceeds rules and the remedial action rules should be clarified and that, in particular, additional rules should be provided indicating when it is appropriate to treat an issue as financing disposition proceeds rather than the transferred property. The final regulations take the view that, if an issuer disposes of bond-financed property, it is generally appropriate under Code section 141 for the Commissioner to treat the issue as financing either the transferred property or the disposition proceeds. This is because any disposition of bond-financed property has the potential to transfer the benefits of tax-exempt financing to the purchaser, and the private activity bond rules extend to transactions that have significant potential to transfer these benefits, as well as transactions that actually transfer these benefits. As a matter of administrative convenience, however, the final regulations in certain cases permit an issuer to choose to treat an issue as financing either the transferred property or the disposition proceeds, provided that certain conditions are met that protect against abuse. The final regulations accordingly treat the disposition proceeds rules as conditions to taking certain remedial actions. For example, in order for an issue to be eligible for a remedial action, the disposition proceeds of an issue must generally be treated as proceeds for purposes of the arbitrage regulations. 3. Conditions to taking a remedial action. The proposed regulations provide that an issuer may take a remedial action to prevent bonds of an issue from becoming private activity bonds only if it made certain covenants and certifications on the issue date. Commentators suggested that these specific requirements should be deleted because they are unnecessary in light of standard industry practice to require similar covenants and certifications. The final regulations adopt this comment. 4. Maturity limitations and remedial actions. The proposed regulations provide that an issuer cannot take advantage of certain favorable rules involving disposition proceeds if the weighted average maturity of an issue is greater than 120 percent of the economic life of the financed property. Commentators suggested that use of this 120 percent maturity limitation as a condition to favorable treatment in taking remedial actions is burdensome for issuers of governmental bonds. The final regulations provide that an issue is eligible for the remedial action rules only if the term of the issue is not longer than is reasonably necessary for the governmental purposes of the issue. To determine whether the term of an issue is unreasonably long, the final regulations adopt the same standard that is used for purposes of determining whether replacement proceeds arise because the term of an issue is unreasonably long under 1.148-1(c)(4). This standard provides that the 120 percent maturity limitation is a safe harbor, rather than a requirement in all cases. 5. Special rules for identifying disposition proceeds. Under the proposed regulations, many of the rules for remedial actions depend on identification of disposition proceeds. The final regulations clarify how disposition proceeds are to be allocated to an issue when the transferred property has been financed with different sources of funding. In general, the final regulations provide that disposition proceeds should be allocated first to the outstanding bonds that financed the property (both tax-exempt and taxable) in proportion to the outstanding principal amounts of those outstanding bonds. Only amounts in excess of these outstanding principal amounts may be allocated to other sources of funding, such as equity of an issuer or bonds that are no longer outstanding. 6. Redemption and defeasance as remedial actions. The proposed regulations generally provide that redemption and defeasance of nonqualified bonds are permitted remedial actions. In cases where the disposition is exclusively for cash, only the disposition proceeds need to be used to redeem or defease bonds; in other cases, the entire amount of nonqualified bonds is required to be redeemed or defeased. The proposed regulations also provide, however, that defeasance of bonds to a date that is more than six months from the date of a deliberate action is permitted only if the possibility of a disposition was remote as of the issue date of the bonds. Commentators suggested that this special limitation should be deleted because the remoteness standard is vague and would require governmental issuers to use special call provisions that would substantially increase borrowing costs. The final regulations delete the "remote possibility" limitation on use of defeasance as a remedial action. Instead, the final regulations permit defeasance as a remedial action only if the first call date of the nonqualified bonds is not greater than 10 1/2 years from the issue date. This limitation presents an administrable standard that will not unduly interfere with customary financing practices of state and local governments, while at the same time preventing improper use of defeasance as a remedial action for bonds that cannot be called for an extended period of time. 7. Alternative qualifying use of a facility as a remedial action. The proposed regulations provide that alternative qualifying use of a bond-financed facility is a permitted remedial action if the facility is used in a manner that meets the requirements for any type of qualified private activity bonds and the bonds are treated as reissued as of the date of the deliberate action for purposes of the tax-exempt bond rules concerning use of bond-financed property. Commentators suggested that for purposes of determining whether bonds that are treated as reissued as of the date of the deliberate action satisfy all of the applicable requirements for qualified bonds, the rules contained in Code section 146 relating to volume cap and the rules contained in Code sections 55 and 57 should not apply. Commentators also suggested that the regulations should clarify whether any limitations are placed on an issuer's use of disposition proceeds when it chooses to use this remedial action. The final regulations provide that, in order to qualify for this remedial action, an issuer must deposit any disposition proceeds that it receives into a yield-restricted escrow to pay the nonqualified bonds. This requirement is different than the defeasance remedial action, because an issuer is permitted to leave bonds outstanding until maturity (rather than the first call date) and is not subject to the special 10 1/2-year call protection limitation on the defeasance remedial action. Also, if an issuer chooses to use this rule, it may receive compensation in installments and use any payments received either to pay debt service or to deposit into a yield-restricted escrow to pay debt service. This requirement is appropriate because it establishes the necessary nexus between the new user and the nonqualified bonds. In effect, the new user is treated, as far as is reasonably practicable, as if it were the conduit borrower of the bond proceeds. The final regulations also clarify that, for purposes of determining whether nonqualified bonds that are deemed to be reissued meet all of the requirements for qualified private activity bonds, the law in effect on the date of the deliberate action applies. The final regulations do not adopt the suggestion that the rules contained in Code section 146 relating to volume cap and the rules contained in Code sections 55 and 57 should not apply. The IRS and Treasury are issuing a revenue procedure (discussed in paragraph 10 below) to address the change in status of bonds from governmental bonds to qualified private activity bonds and the application of the alternative minimum tax provisions. The final regulations provide that the rules contained in Code section 147(d) relating to the acquisition of existing property do not apply to this remedial action. 8. Nonqualified bonds. The proposed regulations permit an issuer to take a remedial action with respect to a portion of the bonds of an issue, rather than the entire issue. In general, the proposed regulations require that these "nonqualified bonds" be a pro rata portion (among the maturities) of the outstanding bonds of an issue. Commentators suggested that issuers should have greater flexibility to allocate uses of proceeds to bonds when a deliberate action occurs. The final regulations permit an issuer to redeem or defease bonds with longer maturities than the nonqualified bonds in a remedial action, but in general continue to require that nonqualified bonds be identified on a pro rata basis. Issuers have significant flexibility to allocate bonds of an issue to separate purposes on or before the issue date under 1.150-1(c)(3). Under the final regulations, the percentage of outstanding bonds that are nonqualified bonds is equal to the highest percentage of private business use in any 1-year period commencing with the deliberate action. 9. Effect of deliberate actions and remedial actions on bonds that have been advance refunded. The proposed regulations do not specifically address how deliberate actions and remedial actions affect bonds that have been advance refunded. Commentators suggested that a deliberate action should not affect the status of an advance refunded bond under Code section 141. The final regulations provide that a remedial action taken with respect to advance refunding bonds proportionately "cures" the bonds that have been advance refunded. 10. Remedial payment revenue procedure. The preamble to the proposed regulations indicates that the IRS and Treasury are considering issuance of a revenue procedure pursuant to which an issuer may request a closing agreement with respect to outstanding bonds. Under the closing agreement, the issuer would make a payment to the IRS to prevent the interest on bonds from being includible in gross income of bondholders as a result of a deliberate action that results in satisfaction of the private activity bond test. In general, the payment would be based on the difference between applicable federal rates for taxable and tax-exempt obligations. The preamble to the proposed regulations indicates that this revenue procedure is being considered in lieu of permitting defeasance as a remedial action. Commentators generally favored the publication of such a revenue procedure but suggested that it should apply in addition to defeasance as a remedial action. Commentators also suggested that an issuer should be permitted to make a payment to the IRS in those cases where the bonds were issued as governmental bonds, the interest on which was not treated as an item of tax preference for purposes of the alternative minimum tax provisions, but the bonds become qualified private activity bonds, the interest on which is treated as an item of tax preference for purposes of the alternative minimum tax provisions as a consequence of a remedial action taken by the issuer. The IRS and Treasury are issuing a revenue procedure in addition to permitting defeasance as a remedial action. Under this revenue procedure the amount of the remedial payment is based on a factor that roughly approximates revenue loss to the United States rather than the difference between taxable and tax-exempt applicable federal rates. While this approach may in many cases require greater remedial payments than under the approach described in the proposed regulations, the fluctuation in the difference between taxable and tax-exempt applicable federal rates would result in inconsistent treatment of issuers. Further, a more rigorous standard for determining the remedial payment is appropriate because the revenue procedure is adopted in addition to all of the remedial actions set forth in the final regulations. In response to comments, this revenue procedure also provides that an issuer may make a payment to prevent the application of the alternative minimum tax provisions to interest payable on bonds that were issued as governmental bonds but, as a consequence of a remedial action taken by an issuer, are qualified private activity bonds. This approach recognizes the difficulty state and local government issuers may have in notifying bondholders of this change in status. J. Section 1.141-13 Refunding issues. The final regulations reserve on the treatment of refunding bonds under Code section 141. K. Section 1.141-14 Anti-abuse rules. Application of the rule to override specific tracing. The proposed regulations provide that if an issuer enters into a transaction or series of transactions with a principal purpose of transferring to nongovernmental persons (other than as members of the general public) significant benefits of tax-exempt financing in a manner that is inconsistent with the purposes of Code section 141, the Commissioner may take any action to reflect the substance of the transaction or transactions. The final regulations adopt this rule and add examples to clarify that it may be invoked in appropriate cases to override specific tracing of the use of proceeds. L. Section 1.145-1 Special rules for qualified 501(c)(3) bonds. 1. Application of private activity bond rules to Code section 145(a). The proposed regulations provide that the regulations under Code section 141 interpreting the private activity bond tests apply for purposes of Code section 145(a)(2). The final regulations in general continue this approach but also provide that certain provisions under Code section 141, which are intended to apply only to governmental programs, do not apply to qualified 501(c)(3) bonds. The final regulations also clarify that regulations under Code section 141 apply in the same manner to the ownership test of Code section 145(a)(1) and to the modified private activity bond test of Code section 145(a)(2). 2. Application of deliberate action and remedial action rules to other provisions of Code section 145. The proposed regulations provide that the deliberate action rules of 1.141-2 and the remedial action rules of 1.141-12 generally apply to Code section 145. The final regulations do not apply to Code sections 145(b), (c), or (d). The $150 million limitation on bonds other than hospital bonds of Code sections 145(b) and (c) involves a number of special considerations, which the IRS and Treasury believe would be more appropriate to consider in a project comprehensively interpreting the operation of the special volume cap rules. Similarly, the restrictions on bonds used to provide residential rental housing for family units of Code section 145(d) involve a number of special considerations, which the IRS and Treasury believe would be more appropriate to consider in a project comprehensively interpreting the special rules for bonds financing residential rental housing. M. Special rules for other qualified bonds. 1. General standard for compliance. The proposed regulations provide that the requirements for qualified bonds (other than qualified 501(c)(3) bonds) generally must be actually met throughout the term of an issue. Commentators suggested that this rule should be deleted because the compliance standard for each type of qualified bond should be separately considered. Other commentators suggested that the compliance standard applicable to governmental bonds, looking to reasonable expectations and deliberate actions, is generally appropriate for qualified bonds. The final regulations do not address the general compliance standard for qualified bonds (other than qualified 501(c)(3) bonds). The IRS and Treasury believe that further consideration should be given to whether special rules apply to different types of qualified bonds. Accordingly, the final regulations address only whether remedial actions may be taken to prevent certain types of qualified bonds from failing to meet requirements relating to use of proceeds. Thus, no implication is intended that the measurement-over-the-term rule for private business use under Code sections 141 and 145 applies in any manner to other qualified bonds. 2. Remedial actions for change in use. The proposed regulations in general provide that, if an action results in nonqualified use of proceeds, the remedial actions that apply to governmental bonds also apply to qualified bonds. The permitted remedial actions include redemption and defeasance of bonds and alternative qualifying use of a facility. The final regulations address only whether remedial actions may be taken for exempt facility bonds under Code section 142 and qualified small issue bonds under Code section 144(a) and with respect to certain provisions of 147. The final regulations continue to provide that redemption and defeasance are permitted remedial actions for these types of issues, under rules that are similar to the remedial action rules that apply to governmental bonds. The requirements for these types of qualified bonds focus on the use of a particular facility for a particular qualifying use, and, unlike governmental bonds and qualified 501(c)(3) bonds, do not generally focus on the status of the borrower. For this reason, the final regulations generally do not permit an issuer of exempt facility bonds or qualified small issue bonds to take a remedial action based on use of disposition proceeds. Accordingly, the final regulations clarify that the amount of bonds required to be redeemed or defeased under a remedial action is not limited to the amount of disposition proceeds. For administrative convenience, however, the final regulations permit the use of disposition proceeds from the sale of personal property that is incidental to a qualifying facility to replace the personal property that is sold. The final regulations do not permit alternative qualifying use of a facility as a remedial action for exempt facility bonds or qualified small issue bonds. 3. Remedial actions for failure to spend proceeds. The proposed regulations provide that a remedial action may be taken to correct a failure to spend proceeds as required under Code sections 142 and 144. This rule replaces Rev. Proc. 79-5, 1979-1 C.B. 485, and Rev. Proc. 81-22, 1981-1 C.B. 692, which provide guidance on how the requirement in the predecessor to Code section 142 that substantially all of the proceeds be spent for a qualifying purpose is met when excess bond proceeds remain on hand after acquisition or construction has been completed. The final regulations clarify that the requirements for remedial action in the case of failure to spend proceeds for a qualifying purpose are comparable to the requirements for remedial action in the case of change in use of a qualifying facility. Accordingly, the final regulations require that nonqualified bonds must be redeemed at their first call date, regardless of the amount of call premium that is required to be paid, and that defeasance is permitted only if the first call date is no later than 10 1/2 years after the issue date. 4. Refundings of qualified bonds. The final regulations reserve on the treatment of refundings of qualified bonds. N. Section 1.150-4 Statutory change of use rules for qualified private activity bonds. The proposed regulations provide that the change of use provisions of Code section 150(b) apply even if an issuer takes a remedial action that enables an issue of qualified private activity bonds to continue to meet use of proceeds requirements. Commentators suggested that a remedial action that preserves the tax-exempt status of a qualified private activity bond should also prevent application of the interest deduction denial and imputed unrelated business income provisions of Code section 150(b). The final regulations more specifically address the effect of each type of remedial action on the application of the Code section 150(b) consequences. In general, defeasance of bonds does not prevent application of Code section 150(b). If other remedial actions are taken promptly after the date of the remedial action, however, Code section 150(b) does not apply. O. Effective dates. The final regulations generally apply to bonds issued after May 16, 1997. To promote compliance, the final regulations generally permit elective, retroactive application of the regulations in whole, but not in part, to outstanding issues. In addition, the final regulations permit elective, retroactive application to outstanding issues of any of the following sections of the regulations: 1.141-12 (the remedial action rules); 1.141-3(b)(4) (the management contract rules); and 1.141-3(b)(6) (the research agreement rules). Effect on other documents In part because the existing industrial development bond regulations under 1.103-7 may continue to apply to refunding bonds issued after the effective date of the private activity bond regulations, 1.103-7 is not being removed from the Code of Federal Regulations. For bonds to which the final regulations apply, the following publications are obsolete: Notice 87-69, 1987-2 C.B. 378. Notice 89-9, 1989-1 C.B. 630. For actions that occur on or after May 16, 1997, the following publications are obsolete: Rev. Proc. 93-17, 1993-1 C.B. 507. Rev. Proc. 81-22, 1981-1 C.B. 692. Rev. Proc. 79-5, 1979-1 C.B. 485. Special Analyses It has been determined that this Treasury decision is not a significant regulatory action as defined in EO 12866. Therefore, a regulatory assessment is not required. It also has been determined that section 553(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 5) does not apply to these regulations, and because the notice of proposed rulemaking preceding the regulations was issued prior to March 29, 1996, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 6) does not apply. Pursuant to section 7805(f) of the Internal Revenue Code, the notice of proposed rulemaking preceding these regulations was submitted to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration for comment on its impact on small business. Drafting Information The principal authors of these regulations are Michael G. Bailey, Loretta J. Finger, and Nancy M. Lashnits, Office of Assistant Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions and Products), and Linda B. Schakel of the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel. However, other personnel from the IRS and Treasury Department participated in their development. List of Subjects 26 CFR Part 1 Income taxes, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. 26 CFR Part 602 Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Adoption of Amendments to the Regulations Accordingly, 26 CFR parts 1 and 602 are amended as follows: PART 1--INCOME TAXES Paragraph 1. The authority citation for part 1 is amended by adding an entry in numerical order to read as follows: Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805 * * * Section 1.148-6 also issued under 26 U.S.C. 148(f), (g), and (i). * * * Section 1.150-4 also issued under 26 U.S.C. 150(c)(5). * * * Par. 2. The center heading immediately preceding 1.141-1 is revised to read as follows: TAX EXEMPTION REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE AND LOCAL BONDS Par. 3. Section 1.141-1 is revised. 1.143-1 [Redesignated as 1.7703-1] Par. 4. Section 1.143-1 is redesignated as 1.7703-1. 1.144-3 [Removed] Par. 5. Section 1.144-3 is removed. Par. 6. Sections 1.141-0 and 1.141-2 through 1.141-16 are added. The revised and added sections read as follows: 1.141-0 Table of contents. This section lists the captioned paragraphs contained in 1.141-1 through 1.141-16. 1.141-1 Definitions and rules of general application. (a) In general. (b) Certain general definitions. (c) Elections. (d) Related parties. 1.141-2 Private activity bond tests. (a) Overview. (b) Scope. (c) General definition of private activity bond. (d) Reasonable expectations and deliberate actions. (1) In general. (2) Reasonable expectations test. (3) Deliberate action defined. (4) Special rule for dispositions of personal property in the ordinary course of an established governmental program. (5) Special rule for general obligation bond programs that finance a large number of separate purposes. (e) When a deliberate action occurs. (f) Certain remedial actions. (g) Examples. 1.141-3 Definition of private business use. (a) General rule. (1) In general. (2) Indirect use. (3) Aggregation of private business use. (b) Types of private business use arrangements. (1) In general. (2) Ownership. (3) Leases. (4) Management contracts. (5) Output contracts. (6) Research agreements. (7) Other actual or beneficial use. (c) Exception for general public use. (1) In general. (2) Use on the same basis. (3) Long-term arrangements not treated as general public use. (4) Relation to other use. (d) Other exceptions. (1) Agents. (2) Use incidental to financing arrangements. (3) Exceptions for arrangements other than arrangements resulting in ownership of financed property by a nongovernmental person. (4) Temporary use by developers. (5) Incidental use. (6) Qualified improvements. (e) Special rule for tax assessment bonds. (f) Examples. (g) Measurement of private business use. (1) In general. (2) Measurement period. (3) Determining average percentage of private business use. (4) Determining the average amount of private business use for a 1-year period. (5) Common areas. (6) Allocation of neutral costs. (7) Commencement of measurement of private business use. (8) Examples. 1.141-4 Private security or payment test. (a) General rule. (1) Private security or payment. (2) Aggregation of private payments and security. (3) Underlying arrangement. (b) Measurement of private payments and security. (1) Scope. (2) Present value measurement. (c) Private payments. (1) In general. (2) Payments taken into account. (3) Allocation of payments. (d) Private security. (1) In general. (2) Security taken into account. (3) Pledge of unexpended proceeds. (4) Secured by any interest in property or payments. (5) Payments in respect of property. (6) Allocation of security among issues. (e) Generally applicable taxes. (1) General rule. (2) Definition of generally applicable taxes. (3) Special charges. (4) Manner of determination and collection. (5) Payments in lieu of taxes. (f) Certain waste remediation bonds. (1) Scope. (2) Persons that are not private users. (3) Persons that are private users. (g) Examples. 1.141-5 Private loan financing test. (a) In general. (b) Measurement of test. (c) Definition of private loan. (1) In general. (2) Application only to purpose investments. (3) Grants. (4) Hazardous waste remediation bonds. (d) Tax assessment loan exception. (1) General rule. (2) Tax assessment loan defined. (3) Mandatory tax or other assessment. (4) Specific essential governmental function. (5) Equal basis requirement. (6) Coordination with private business tests. (e) Examples. 1.141-6 Allocation and accounting rules. (a) Allocation of proceeds to expenditures. (b) Allocation of proceeds to property. [Reserved] (c) Special rules for mixed use facilities. [Reserved] (d) Allocation of proceeds to common areas. [Reserved] (e) Allocation of proceeds to bonds. [Reserved] (f) Treatment of partnerships. [Reserved] (g) Examples. [Reserved] 1.141-7 Special rules for output contracts. [Reserved] 1.141-8 $15 million limitation for output facilities. [Reserved] 1.141-9 Unrelated or disproportionate use test. (a) General rules. (1) Description of test. (2) Application of unrelated or disproportionate use test. (b) Unrelated use. (1) In general. (2) Use for the same purpose as government use. (c) Disproportionate use. (1) Definition of disproportionate use. (2) Aggregation of related uses. (3) Allocation rule. (d) Maximum use taken into account. (e) Examples. 1.141-10 Coordination with volume cap. [Reserved] 1.141-11 Acquisition of nongovernmental output property. [Reserved] 1.141-12 Remedial actions. (a) Conditions to taking remedial action. (1) Reasonable expectations test met. (2) Maturity not unreasonably long. (3) Fair market value consideration. (4) Disposition proceeds treated as gross proceeds for arbitrage purposes. (5) Proceeds expended on a governmental purpose. (b) Effect of a remedial action. (1) In general. (2) Effect on bonds that have been advance refunded. (c) Disposition proceeds. (1) Definition. (2) Allocating disposition proceeds to an issue. (3) Allocating disposition proceeds to different sources of funding. (d) Redemption or defeasance of nonqualified bonds. (1) In general. (2) Special rule for dispositions for cash. (3) Notice of defeasance. (4) Special limitation. (5) Defeasance escrow defined. (e) Alternative use of disposition proceeds. (1) In general. (2) Special rule for use by 501(c)(3) organizations. (f) Alternative use of facility. (g) Rules for deemed reissuance. (h) Authority of Commissioner to provide for additional remedial actions. (i) Effect of remedial action on continuing compliance. (j) Nonqualified bonds. (1) Amount of nonqualified bonds. (2) Allocation of nonqualified bonds. (k) Examples. 1.141-13 Refunding issues. [Reserved] 1.141-14 Anti-abuse rules. (a) Authority of Commissioner to reflect substance of transactions. (b) Examples. 1.141-15 Effective dates. (a) Scope. (b) Effective dates. (c) Refunding bonds. (d) Permissive application of regulations. (e) Permissive retroactive application of certain sections. 1.141-16 Effective dates for qualified private activity bond provisions. (a) Scope. (b) Effective dates. (c) Permissive application. 1.141-1 Definitions and rules of general application. (a) In general. For purposes of 1.141-0 through 1.141-16, the following definitions and rules apply: the definitions in this section, the definitions in 1.150-1, the definition of placed in service under 1.150-2(c), the definition of grant under 1.148-6(d)(4)(iii), the definition of reasonably required reserve or replacement fund in 1.148-2(f), and the following definitions under 1.148-1: bond year, commingled fund, fixed yield issue, higher yielding investments, investment, investment proceeds, issue price, issuer, nonpurpose investment, purpose investment, qualified guarantee, qualified hedge, reasonable expectations or reasonableness, rebate amount, replacement proceeds, sale proceeds, variable yield issue, and yield. (b) Certain general definitions. Common areas means portions of a facility that are equally available to all users of a facility on the same basis for uses that are incidental to the primary use of the facility. For example, hallways and elevators generally are treated as common areas if they are used by the different lessees of a facility in connection with the primary use of that facility. Consistently applied means applied uniformly to account for proceeds and other amounts. Deliberate action is defined in 1.141-2(d)(3). Discrete portion means a portion of a facility that consists of any separate and discrete portion of a facility to which use is limited, other than common areas. A floor of a building and a portion of a building separated by walls, partitions, or other physical barriers are examples of a discrete portion. Disposition is defined in 1.141-12(c)(1). Disposition proceeds is defined in 1.141-12(c)(1). Essential governmental function is defined in 1.141-5(d)(4)(ii). Financed means constructed, reconstructed, or acquired with proceeds of an issue. Governmental bond means a bond issued as part of an issue no portion of which consists of private activity bonds. Governmental person means a state or local governmental unit as defined in 1.103-1 or any instrumentality thereof. It does not include the United States or any agency or instrumentality thereof. Hazardous waste remediation bonds is defined in 1.141-4(f)(1). Measurement period is defined in 1.141-3(g)(2). Nongovernmental person means a person other than a governmental person. Output facility means electric and gas generation, transmission, distribution, and related facilities, and water collection, storage, and distribution facilities. Private business tests means the private business use test and the private security or payment test of section 141(b). Proceeds means the sale proceeds of an issue (other than those sale proceeds used to retire bonds of the issue that are not deposited in a reasonably required reserve or replacement fund). Proceeds also include any investment proceeds from investments that accrue during the project period (net of rebate amounts attributable to the project period). Disposition proceeds of an issue are treated as proceeds to the extent provided in 1.141-12. The Commissioner may treat any replaced amounts as proceeds. Project period means the period beginning on the issue date and ending on the date that the project is placed in service. In the case of a multipurpose issue, the issuer may elect to treat the project period for the entire issue as ending on either the expiration of the temporary period described in 1.148-2(e)(2) or the end of the fifth bond year after the issue date. Public utility property means public utility property as defined in section 168(i)(10). Qualified bond means a qualified bond as defined in section 141(e). Renewal option means a provision under which either party has a legally enforceable right to renew the contract. Thus, for example, a provision under which a contract is automatically renewed for 1-year periods absent cancellation by either party is not a renewal option (even if it is expected to be renewed). Replaced amounts means replacement proceeds other than amounts that are treated as replacement proceeds solely because they are sinking funds or pledged funds. Weighted average maturity is determined under section 147(b). Weighted average reasonably expected economic life is determined under section 147(b). The reasonably expected economic life of property may be determined by reference to the class life of the property under section 168. (c) Elections. Elections must be made in writing on or before the issue date and retained as part of the bond documents, and, once made, may not be revoked without the permission of the Commissioner. (d) Related parties. Except as otherwise provided, all related parties are treated as one person and any reference to "person" includes any related party. 1.141-2 Private activity bond tests. (a) Overview. Interest on a private activity bond is not excludable from gross income under section 103(a) unless the bond is a qualified bond. The purpose of the private activity bond tests of section 141 is to limit the volume of tax-exempt bonds that finance the activities of nongovernmental persons, without regard to whether a financing actually transfers benefits of tax-exempt financing to a nongovernmental person. The private activity bond tests serve to identify arrangements that have the potential to transfer the benefits of tax-exempt financing, as well as arrangements that actually transfer these benefits. The regulations under section 141 may not be applied in a manner that is inconsistent with these purposes. (b) Scope. Sections 1.141-0 through 1.141-16 apply generally for purposes of the private activity bond limitations under section 141. (c) General definition of private activity bond. Under section 141, bonds are private activity bonds if they meet either the private business use test and private security or payment test of section 141(b) or the private loan financing test of section 141(c). The private business use and private security or payment tests are described in 1.141-3 and 1.141-4. The private loan financing test is described in 1.141-5. (d) Reasonable expectations and deliberate actions--(1) In general. An issue is an issue of private activity bonds if the issuer reasonably expects, as of the issue date, that the issue will meet either the private business tests or the private loan financing test. An issue is also an issue of private activity bonds if the issuer takes a deliberate action, subsequent to the issue date, that causes the conditions of either the private business tests or the private loan financing test to be met. (2) Reasonable expectations test--(i) In general. In general, the reasonable expectations test must take into account reasonable expectations about events and actions over the entire stated term of an issue. (ii) Special rule for issues with mandatory redemption provisions. An action that is reasonably expected, as of the issue date, to occur after the issue date and to cause either the private business tests or the private loan financing test to be met may be disregarded for purposes of those tests if-- (A) The issuer reasonably expects, as of the issue date, that the financed property will be used for a governmental purpose for a substantial period before the action; (B) The issuer is required to redeem all nonqualifying bonds (regardless of the amount of disposition proceeds actually received) within 6 months of the date of the action; (C) The issuer does not enter into any arrangement with a nongovernmental person, as of the issue date, with respect to that specific action; and (D) The mandatory redemption of bonds meets all of the conditions for remedial action under 1.141-12(a). (3) Deliberate action defined--(i) In general. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph (d)(3), a deliberate action is any action taken by the issuer that is within its control. An intent to violate the requirements of section 141 is not necessary for an action to be deliberate. (ii) Safe harbor exceptions. An action is not treated as a deliberate action if-- (A) It would be treated as an involuntary or compulsory conversion under section 1033; or (B) It is taken in response to a regulatory directive made by the federal government. (4) Special rule for dispositions of personal property in the ordinary course of an established governmental program--(i) In general. Dispositions of personal property in the ordinary course of an established governmental program are not treated as deliberate actions if-- (A) The weighted average maturity of the bonds financing that personal property is not greater than 120 percent of the reasonably expected actual use of that property for governmental purposes; (B) The issuer reasonably expects on the issue date that the fair market value of that property on the date of disposition will be not greater than 25 percent of its cost; and (C) The property is no longer suitable for its governmental purposes on the date of disposition. (ii) Reasonable expectations test. The reasonable expectation that a disposition described in paragraph (d)(4)(i) of this section may occur in the ordinary course while the bonds are outstanding will not cause the issue to meet the private activity bond tests if the issuer is required to deposit amounts received from the disposition in a commingled fund with substantial tax or other governmental revenues and the issuer reasonably expects to spend the amounts on governmental programs within 6 months from the date of commingling. (iii) Separate issue treatment. An issuer may treat the bonds properly allocable to the personal property eligible for this exception as a separate issue under 1.150-1(c)(3). (5) Special rule for general obligation bond programs that finance a large number of separate purposes. The determination of whether bonds of an issue are private activity bonds may be based solely on the issuer's reasonable expectations as of the issue date if all of the requirements of paragraphs (d)(5)(i) through (vii) of this section are met. (i) The issue is an issue of general obligation bonds of a general purpose governmental unit that finances at least 25 separate purposes (as defined in 1.150-1(c)(3)) and does not predominantly finance fewer than 4 separate purposes. (ii) The issuer has adopted a fund method of accounting for its general governmental purposes that makes tracing the bond proceeds to specific expenditures unreasonably burdensome. (iii) The issuer reasonably expects on the issue date to allocate all of the net proceeds of the issue to capital expenditures within 6 months of the issue date and adopts reasonable procedures to verify that net proceeds are in fact so expended. A program to randomly spot check that 10 percent of the net proceeds were so expended generally is a reasonable verification procedure for this purpose. (iv) The issuer reasonably expects on the issue date to expend all of the net proceeds of the issue before expending proceeds of a subsequent issue of similar general obligation bonds. (v) The issuer reasonably expects on the issue date that it will not make any loans to nongovernmental persons with the proceeds of the issue. (vi) The issuer reasonably expects on the issue date that the capital expenditures that it could make during the 6-month period beginning on the issue date with the net proceeds of the issue that would not meet the private business tests are not less than 125 percent of the capital expenditures to be financed with the net proceeds of the issue. (vii) The issuer reasonably expects on the issue date that the weighted average maturity of the issue is not greater than 120 percent of the weighted average reasonably expected economic life of the capital expenditures financed with the issue. To determine reasonably expected economic life for this purpose an issuer may use reasonable estimates based on the type of expenditures made from a fund. (e) When a deliberate action occurs. A deliberate action occurs on the date the issuer enters into a binding contract with a nongovernmental person for use of the financed property that is not subject to any material contingencies. (f) Certain remedial actions. See 1.141-12 for certain remedial actions that prevent a deliberate action with respect to property financed by an issue from causing that issue to meet the private business use test or the private loan financing test. (g) Examples. The following examples illustrate the application of this section: Example 1. Involuntary action. City B issues bonds to finance the purchase of land. On the issue date, B reasonably expects that it will be the sole user of the land for the entire term of the bonds. Subsequently, the federal government acquires the land in a condemnation action. B sets aside the condemnation proceeds to pay debt service on the bonds but does not redeem them on their first call date. The bonds are not private activity bonds because B has not taken a deliberate action after the issue date. See, however, 1.141-14(b), Example 2. Example 2. Reasonable expectations test -- involuntary action. The facts are the same as in Example 1, except that, on the issue date, B reasonably expects that the federal government will acquire the land in a condemnation action during the term of the bonds. On the issue date, the present value of the amount that B reasonably expects to receive from the federal government is greater than 10 percent of the present value of the debt service on the bonds. The terms of the bonds do not require that the bonds be redeemed within 6 months of the acquisition by the federal government. The bonds are private activity bonds because the issuer expects as of the issue date that the private business tests will be met. Example 3. Reasonable expectations test -- mandatory redemption. City C issues bonds to rehabilitate an existing hospital that it currently owns. On the issue date of the bonds, C reasonably expects that the hospital will be used for a governmental purpose for a substantial period. On the issue date, C also plans to construct a new hospital, but the placed in service date of that new hospital is uncertain. C reasonably expects that, when the new hospital is placed in service, it will sell or lease the rehabilitated hospital to a private hospital corporation. The bond documents require that the bonds must be redeemed within 6 months of the sale or lease of the rehabilitated hospital (regardless of the amount actually received from the sale). The bonds meet the reasonable expectations requirement of the private activity bond tests if the mandatory redemption of bonds meets all of the conditions for a remedial action under 1.141-12(a). Example 4. Dispositions in the ordinary course of an established governmental program. City D issues bonds with a weighted average maturity of 6 years for the acquisition of police cars. D reasonably expects on the issue date that the police cars will be used solely by its police department, except that, in the ordinary course of its police operations, D sells its police cars to a taxicab corporation after 5 years of use because they are no longer suitable for police use. Further, D reasonably expects that the value of the police cars when they are no longer suitable for police use will be no more than 25 percent of cost. D subsequently sells 20 percent of the police cars after only 3 years of actual use. At that time, D deposits the proceeds from the sale of the police cars in a commingled fund with substantial tax revenues and reasonably expects to spend the proceeds on governmental programs within 6 months of the date of deposit. D does not trace the actual use of these commingled amounts. The sale of the police cars does not cause the private activity bond tests to be met because the requirements of paragraph (d)(4) of this section are met. 1.141-3 Definition of private business use. (a) General rule--(1) In general. The private business use test relates to the use of the proceeds of an issue. The 10 percent private business use test of section 141(b)(1) is met if more than 10 percent of the proceeds of an issue is used in a trade or business of a nongovernmental person. For this purpose, the use of financed property is treated as the direct use of proceeds. Any activity carried on by a person other than a natural person is treated as a trade or business. Unless the context or a provision clearly requires otherwise, this section also applies to the private business use test under sections 141(b)(3) (unrelated or disproportionate use), 141(b)(4) ($15 million limitation for certain output facilities), and 141(b)(5) (the coordination with the volume cap where the nonqualified amount exceeds $15 million). (2) Indirect use. In determining whether an issue meets the private business use test, it is necessary to look to both the indirect and direct uses of proceeds. For example, a facility is treated as being used for a private business use if it is leased to a nongovernmental person and subleased to a governmental person or if it is leased to a governmental person and then subleased to a nongovernmental person, provided that in each case the nongovernmental person's use is in a trade or business. Similarly, the issuer's use of the proceeds to engage in a series of financing transactions for property to be used by nongovernmental persons in their trades or businesses may cause the private business use test to be met. In addition, proceeds are treated as used in the trade or business of a nongovernmental person if a nongovernmental person, as a result of a single transaction or a series of related transactions, uses property acquired with the proceeds of an issue. (3) Aggregation of private business use. The use of proceeds by all nongovernmental persons is aggregated to determine whether the private business use test is met. (b) Types of private business use arrangements--(1) In general. Both actual and beneficial use by a nongovernmental person may be treated as private business use. In most cases, the private business use test is met only if a nongovernmental person has special legal entitlements to use the financed property under an arrangement with the issuer. In general, a nongovernmental person is treated as a private business user of proceeds and financed property as a result of ownership; actual or beneficial use of property pursuant to a lease, or a management or incentive payment contract; or certain other arrangements such as a take or pay or other output-type contract. (2) Ownership. Except as provided in paragraph (d)(1) or (d)(2) of this section, ownership by a nongovernmental person of financed property is private business use of that property. For this purpose, ownership refers to ownership for federal income tax purposes. (3) Leases. Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, the lease of financed property to a nongovernmental person is private business use of that property. For this purpose, any arrangement that is properly characterized as a lease for federal income tax purposes is treated as a lease. In determining whether a management contract is properly characterized as a lease, it is necessary to consider all of the facts and circumstances, including the following factors-- (i) The degree of control over the property that is exercised by a nongovernmental person; and (ii) Whether a nongovernmental person bears risk of loss of the financed property. (4) Management contracts--(i) Facts and circumstances test. Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, a management contract (within the meaning of paragraph (b)(4)(ii) of this section) with respect to financed property may result in private business use of that property, based on all of the facts and circumstances. A management contract with respect to financed property generally results in private business use of that property if the contract provides for compensation for services rendered with compensation based, in whole or in part, on a share of net profits from the operation of the facility. (ii) Management contract defined. For purposes of this section, a management contract is a management, service, or incentive payment contract between a governmental person and a service provider under which the service provider provides services involving all, a portion of, or any function of, a facility. For example, a contract for the provision of management services for an entire hospital, a contract for management services for a specific department of a hospital, and an incentive payment contract for physician services to patients of a hospital are each treated as a management contract. (iii) Arrangements generally not treated as management contracts. The arrangements described in paragraphs (b)(4)(iii)(A) through (D) of this section generally are not treated as management contracts that give rise to private business use. (A) Contracts for services that are solely incidental to the primary governmental function or functions of a financed facility (for example, contracts for janitorial, office equipment repair, hospital billing, or similar services). (B) The mere granting of admitting privileges by a hospital to a doctor, even if those privileges are conditioned on the provision of de minimis services, if those privileges are available to all qualified physicians in the area, consistent with the size and nature of its facilities. (C) A contract to provide for the operation of a facility or system of facilities that consists predominantly of public utility property, if the only compensation is the reimbursement of actual and direct expenses of the service provider and reasonable administrative overhead expenses of the service provider. (D) A contract to provide for services, if the only compensation is the reimbursement of the service provider for actual and direct expenses paid by the service provider to unrelated parties. (iv) Management contracts that are properly treated as other types of private business use. A management contract with respect to financed property results in private business use of that property if the service provider is treated as the lessee or owner of financed property for federal income tax purposes, unless an exception under paragraph (d) of this section applies to the arrangement. (5) Output contracts. See 1.141-7 for special rules for contracts for the purchase of output of output facilities. (6) Research agreements--(i) Facts and circumstances test. Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, an agreement by a nongovernmental person to sponsor research performed by a governmental person may result in private business use of the property used for the research, based on all of the facts and circumstances. (ii) Research agreements that are properly treated as other types of private business use. A research agreement with respect to financed property results in private business use of that property if the sponsor is treated as the lessee or owner of financed property for federal income tax purposes, unless an exception under paragraph (d) of this section applies to the arrangement. (7) Other actual or beneficial use--(i) In general. Any other arrangement that conveys special legal entitlements for beneficial use of bond proceeds or of financed property that are comparable to special legal entitlements described in paragraphs (b)(2), (3), (4), (5), or (6) of this section results in private business use. For example, an arrangement that conveys priority rights to the use or capacity of a facility generally results in private business use. (ii) Special rule for facilities not used by the general public. In the case of financed property that is not available for use by the general public (within the meaning of paragraph (c) of this section), private business use may be established solely on the basis of a special economic benefit to one or more nongovernmental persons, even if those nongovernmental persons have no special legal entitlements to use of the property. In determining whether special economic benefit gives rise to private business use it is necessary to consider all of the facts and circumstances, including one or more of the following factors-- (A) Whether the financed property is functionally related or physically proximate to property used in the trade or business of a nongovernmental person; (B) Whether only a small number of nongovernmental persons receive the special economic benefit; and (C) Whether the cost of the financed property is treated as depreciable by any nongovernmental person. (c) Exception for general public use--(1) In general. Use as a member of the general public (general public use) is not private business use. Use of financed property by nongovernmental persons in their trades or businesses is treated as general public use only if the property is intended to be available and in fact is reasonably available for use on the same basis by natural persons not engaged in a trade or business. (2) Use on the same basis. In general, use under an arrangement that conveys priority rights or other preferential benefits is not use on the same basis as the general public. Arrangements providing for use that is available to the general public at no charge or on the basis of rates that are generally applicable and uniformly applied do not convey priority rights or other preferential benefits. For this purpose, rates may be treated as generally applicable and uniformly applied even if-- (i) Different rates apply to different classes of users, such as volume purchasers, if the differences in rates are customary and reasonable; or (ii) A specially negotiated rate arrangement is entered into, but only if the user is prohibited by federal law from paying the generally applicable rates, and the rates established are as comparable as reasonably possible to the generally applicable rates. (3) Long-term arrangements not treated as general public use. An arrangement is not treated as general public use if the term of the use under the arrangement, including all renewal options, is greater than 180 days. For this purpose, a right of first refusal to renew use under the arrangement is not treated as a renewal option if-- (i) The compensation for the use under the arrangement is redetermined at generally applicable, fair market value rates that are in effect at the time of renewal; and (ii) The use of the financed property under the same or similar arrangements is predominantly by natural persons who are not engaged in a trade or business. (4) Relation to other use. Use of financed property by the general public does not prevent the proceeds from being used for a private business use because of other use under this section. (d) Other exceptions--(1) Agents. Use of proceeds by nongovernmental persons solely in their capacity as agents of a governmental person is not private business use. For example, use by a nongovernmental person that issues obligations on behalf of a governmental person is not private business use to the extent the nongovernmental person's use of proceeds is in its capacity as an agent of the governmental person. (2) Use incidental to financing arrangements. Use by a nongovernmental person that is solely incidental to a financing arrangement is not private business use. A use is solely incidental to a financing arrangement only if the nongovernmental person has no substantial rights to use bond proceeds or financed property other than as an agent of the bondholders. For example, a nongovernmental person that acts solely as an owner of title in a sale and leaseback financing transaction with a city generally is not a private business user of the property leased to the city, provided that the nongovernmental person has assigned all of its rights to use the leased facility to the trustee for the bondholders upon default by the city. Similarly, bond trustees, servicers, and guarantors are generally not treated as private business users. (3) Exceptions for arrangements other than arrangements resulting in ownership of financed property by a nongovernmental person--(i) Arrangements not available for use on the same basis by natural persons not engaged in a trade or business. Use by a nongovernmental person pursuant to an arrangement, other than an arrangement resulting in ownership of financed property by a nongovernmental person, is not private business use if-- (A) The term of the use under the arrangement, including all renewal options, is not longer than 90 days; (B) The arrangement would be treated as general public use, except that it is not available for use on the same basis by natural persons not engaged in a trade or business because generally applicable and uniformly applied rates are not reasonably available to natural persons not engaged in a trade or business; and (C) The property is not financed for a principal purpose of providing that property for use by that nongovernmental person. (ii) Negotiated arm's-length arrangements. Use by a nongovernmental person pursuant to an arrangement, other than an arrangement resulting in ownership of financed property by a nongovernmental person, is not private business use if-- (A) The term of the use under the arrangement, including all renewal options, is not longer than 30 days; (B) The arrangement is a negotiated arm's-length arrangement, and compensation under the arrangement is at fair market value; and (C) The property is not financed for a principal purpose of providing that property for use by that nongovernmental person. (4) Temporary use by developers. Use during an initial development period by a developer of an improvement that carries out an essential governmental function is not private business use if the issuer and the developer reasonably expect on the issue date to proceed with all reasonable speed to develop the improvement and property benefited by that improvement and to transfer the improvement to a governmental person, and if the improvement is in fact transferred to a governmental person promptly after the property benefited by the improvement is developed. (5) Incidental use--(i) General rule. Incidental uses of a financed facility are disregarded, to the extent that those uses do not exceed 2.5 percent of the proceeds of the issue used to finance the facility. A use of a facility by a nongovernmental person is incidental if-- (A) Except for vending machines, pay telephones, kiosks, and similar uses, the use does not involve the transfer to the nongovernmental person of possession and control of space that is separated from other areas of the facility by walls, partitions, or other physical barriers, such as a night gate affixed to a structural component of a building (a nonpossessory use); (B) The nonpossessory use is not functionally related to any other use of the facility by the same person (other than a different nonpossessory use); and (C) All nonpossessory uses of the facility do not, in the aggregate, involve the use of more than 2.5 percent of the facility. (ii) Illustrations. Incidental uses may include pay telephones, vending machines, advertising displays, and use for television cameras, but incidental uses may not include output purchases. (6) Qualified improvements. Proceeds that provide a governmentally owned improvement to a governmentally owned building (including its structural components and land functionally related and subordinate to the building) are not used for a private business use if-- (i) The building was placed in service more than 1 year before the construction or acquisition of the improvement is begun; (ii) The improvement is not an enlargement of the building or an improvement of interior space occupied exclusively for any private business use; (iii) No portion of the improved building or any payments in respect of the improved building are taken into account under section 141(b)(2)(A) (the private security test); and (iv) No more than 15 percent of the improved building is used for a private business use. (e) Special rule for tax assessment bonds. In the case of a tax assessment bond that satisfies the requirements of 1.141-5(d), the loan (or deemed loan) of the proceeds to the borrower paying the assessment is disregarded in determining whether the private business use test is met. However, the use of the loan proceeds is not disregarded in determining whether the private business use test is met. (f) Examples. The following examples illustrate the application of paragraphs (a) through (e) of this section. In each example, assume that the arrangements described are the only arrangements with nongovernmental persons for use of the financed property. Example 1. Nongovernmental ownership. State A issues 20-year bonds to purchase land and equip and construct a factory. A then enters into an arrangement with Corporation X to sell the factory to X on an installment basis while the bonds are outstanding. The issue meets the private business use test because a nongovernmental person owns the financed facility. See also 1.141-2 (relating to the private activity bond tests), and 1.141-5 (relating to the private loan financing test). Example 2. Lease to a nongovernmental person. (i) The facts are the same as in Example 1, except that A enters into an arrangement with X to lease the factory to X for 3 years rather than to sell it to X. The lease payments will be made annually and will be based on the tax-exempt interest rate on the bonds. The issue meets the private business use test because a nongovernmental person leases the financed facility. See also 1.141-14 (relating to anti-abuse rules). (ii) The facts are the same as in Example 2(i), except that the annual payments made by X will equal fair rental value of the facility and exceed the amount necessary to pay debt service on the bonds for the 3 years of the lease. The issue meets the private business use test because a nongovernmental person leases the financed facility and the test does not require that the benefits of tax-exempt financing be passed through to the nongovernmental person. Example 3. Management contract in substance a lease. City L issues 30-year bonds to finance the construction of a city hospital. L enters into a 15-year contract with M, a nongovernmental person that operates a health maintenance organization relating to the treatment of M's members at L's hospital. The contract provides for reasonable fixed compensation to M for services rendered with no compensation based, in whole or in part, on a share of net profits from the operation of the hospital. However, the contract also provides that 30 percent of the capacity of the hospital will be exclusively available to M's members and M will bear the risk of loss of that portion of the capacity of the hospital so that, under all of the facts and circumstances, the contract is properly characterized as a lease for federal income tax purposes. The issue meets the private business use test because a nongovernmental person leases the financed facility. Example 4. Ownership of title in substance a leasehold interest. Nonprofit corporation R issues bonds on behalf of City P to finance the construction of a hospital. R will own legal title to the hospital. In addition, R will operate the hospital, but R is not treated as an agent of P in its capacity as operator of the hospital. P has certain rights to the hospital that establish that it is properly treated as the owner of the property for federal income tax purposes. P does not have rights, however, to directly control operation of the hospital while R owns legal title to it and operates it. The issue meets the private business use test because the arrangement provides a nongovernmental person an interest in the financed facility that is comparable to a leasehold interest. See paragraphs (a)(2) and (b)(7)(i) of this section. Example 5. Rights to control use of property treated as private business use -- parking lot. Corporation C and City D enter into a plan to finance the construction of a parking lot adjacent to C's factory. Pursuant to the plan, C conveys the site for the parking lot to D for a nominal amount, subject to a covenant running with the land that the property be used only for a parking lot. In addition, D agrees that C will have the right to approve rates charged by D for use of the parking lot. D issues bonds to finance construction of the parking lot on the site. The parking lot will be available for use by the general public on the basis of rates that are generally applicable and uniformly applied. The issue meets the private business use test because a nongovernmental person has special legal entitlements for beneficial use of the financed facility that are comparable to an ownership interest. See paragraph (b)(7)(i) of this section. Example 6. Other actual or beneficial use -- hydroelectric enhancements. J, a political subdivision, owns and operates a hydroelectric generation plant and related facilities. Pursuant to a take or pay contract, J sells 15 percent of the output of the plant to Corporation K, an investor-owned utility. K is treated as a private business user of the plant. Under the license issued to J for operation of the plant, J is required by federal regulations to construct and operate various facilities for the preservation of fish and for public recreation. J issues its obligations to finance the fish preservation and public recreation facilities. K has no special legal entitlements for beneficial use of the financed facilities. The fish preservation facilities are functionally related to the operation of the plant. The recreation facilities are available to natural persons on a short-term basis according to generally applicable and uniformly applied rates. Under paragraph (c) of this section, the recreation facilities are treated as used by the general public. Under paragraph (b)(7) of this section, K's use is not treated as private business use of the recreation facilities because K has no special legal entitlements for beneficial use of the recreation facilities. The fish preservation facilities are not of a type reasonably available for use on the same basis by natural persons not engaged in a trade or business. Under all of the facts and circumstances (including the functional relationship of the fish preservation facilities to property used in K's trade or business) under paragraph (b)(7)(ii) of this section, K derives a special economic benefit from the fish preservation facilities. Therefore, K's private business use may be established solely on the basis of that special economic benefit, and K's use of the fish preservation facilities is treated as private business use. Example 7. Other actual or beneficial use -- pollution control facilities. City B issues obligations to finance construction of a specialized pollution control facility on land that it owns adjacent to a factory owned by Corporation N. B will own and operate the pollution control facility, and N will have no special legal entitlements to use the facility. B, however, reasonably expects that N will be the only user of the facility. The facility will not be reasonably available for use on the same basis by natural persons not engaged in a trade or business. Under paragraph (b)(7)(ii) of this section, because under all of the facts and circumstances the facility is functionally related and is physically proximate to property used in N's trade or business, N derives a special economic benefit from the facility. Therefore, N's private business use may be established solely on the basis of that special economic benefit, and N's use is treated as private business use of the facility. See paragraph (b)(7)(ii) of this section. Example 8. General public use -- airport runway. (i) City I issues bonds and uses all of the proceeds to finance construction of a runway at a new city-owned airport. The runway will be available for take-off and landing by any operator of an aircraft desiring to use the airport, including general aviation operators who are natural persons not engaged in a trade or business. It is reasonably expected that most of the actual use of the runway will be by private air carriers (both charter airlines and commercial airlines) in connection with their use of the airport terminals leased by those carriers. These leases for the use of terminal space provide no priority rights or other preferential benefits to the air carriers for use of the runway. Moreover, under the leases the lease payments are determined without taking into account the revenues generated by runway landing fees (that is, the lease payments are not determined on a "residual" basis). Although the lessee air carriers receive a special economic benefit from the use of the runway, this economic benefit is not sufficient to cause the air carriers to be private business users, because the runway is available for general public use. The issue does not meet the private business use test. See paragraphs (b)(7)(ii) and (c) of this section. (ii) The facts are the same as in Example 8(i), except that the runway will be available for use only by private air carriers. The use by these private air carriers is not general public use, because the runway is not reasonably available for use on the same basis by natural persons not engaged in a trade or business. Depending on all of the facts and circumstances, including whether there are only a small number of lessee private air carriers, the issue may meet the private business use test solely because the private air carriers receive a special economic benefit from the runway. See paragraph (b)(7)(ii) of this section. (iii) The facts are the same as in Example 8(i), except that the lease payments under the leases with the private air carriers are determined on a residual basis by taking into account the net revenues generated by runway landing fees. These leases cause the private business use test to be met with respect to the runway because they are arrangements that convey special legal entitlements to the financed facility to nongovernmental persons. See paragraph (b)(7)(i) of this section. Example 9. General public use -- airport parking garage. City S issues bonds and uses all of the proceeds to finance construction of a city-owned parking garage at the city-owned airport. S reasonably expects that more than 10 percent of the actual use of the parking garage will be by employees of private air carriers (both charter airlines and commercial airlines) in connection with their use of the airport terminals leased by those carriers. The air carriers' use of the parking garage, however, will be on the same basis as passengers and other members of the general public using the airport. The leases for the use of the terminal space provide no priority rights to the air carriers for use of the parking garage, and the lease payments are determined without taking into account the revenues generated by the parking garage. Although the lessee air carriers receive a special economic benefit from the use of the parking garage, this economic benefit is not sufficient to cause the air carriers to be private business users, because the parking garage is available for general public use. The issue does not meet the private business use test. See paragraphs (b)(7)(ii) and (c) of this section. Example 10. Long-term arrangements not treated as general public use -- insurance fund. Authority T deposits all of the proceeds of its bonds in its insurance fund and invests all of those proceeds in tax-exempt bonds. The insurance fund provides insurance to a large number of businesses and natural persons not engaged in a trade or business. Each participant receives insurance for a term of 1 year. The use by the participants, other than participants that are natural persons not engaged in a trade or business, is treated as private business use of the proceeds of the bonds because the participants have special legal entitlements to the use of bond proceeds, even though the contractual rights are not necessarily properly characterized as ownership, leasehold, or similar interests listed in paragraph (b) of this section. Use of the bond proceeds is not treated as general public use because the term of the insurance is greater than 180 days. See paragraphs (b)(7)(i) and (c)(3) of this section. Example 11. General public use -- port road. Highway Authority W uses all of the proceeds of its bonds to construct a 25-mile road to connect an industrial port owned by Corporation Y with existing roads owned and operated by W. Other than the port, the nearest residential or commercial development to the new road is 12 miles away. There is no reasonable expectation that development will occur in the area surrounding the new road. W and Y enter into no arrangement (either by contract or ordinance) that conveys special legal entitlements to Y for the use of the road. Use of the road will be available without restriction to all users, including natural persons who are not engaged in a trade or business. The issue does not meet the private business use test because the road is treated as used only by the general public. Example 12. General public use of governmentally owned hotel. State Q issues bonds to purchase land and construct a hotel for use by the general public (that is, tourists, visitors, and business travelers). The bond documents provide that Q will own and operate the project for the term of the bonds. Q will not enter into a lease or license with any user for use of rooms for a period longer than 180 days (although users may actually use rooms for consecutive periods in excess of 180 days). Use of the hotel by hotel guests who are travelling in connection with trades or businesses of nongovernmental persons is not a private business use of the hotel by these persons because the hotel is intended to be available and in fact is reasonably available for use on the same basis by natural persons not engaged in a trade or business. See paragraph (c)(1) of this section. Example 13. General public use with rights of first refusal. Authority V uses all of the proceeds of its bonds to construct a parking garage. At least 90 percent of the spaces in the garage will be available to the general public on a monthly first-come, first-served basis. V reasonably expects that the spaces will be predominantly leased to natural persons not engaged in a trade or business who have priority rights to renew their spaces at then current fair market value rates. More than 10 percent of the spaces will be leased to nongovernmental persons acting in a trade or business. These leases are not treated as arrangements with a term of use greater than 180 days. The rights to renew are not treated as renewal options because the compensation for the spaces is redetermined at generally applicable, fair market value rates that will be in effect at the time of renewal and the use of the spaces under similar arrangements is predominantly by natural persons who are not engaged in a trade or business. The issue does not meet the private business use test because at least 90 percent of the use of the parking garage is general public use. See paragraph (c)(3) of this section. Example 14. General public use with a specially negotiated rate agreement with agency of United States. G, a sewage collection and treatment district, operates facilities that were financed with its bonds. F, an agency of the United States, has a base located within G. Approximately 20 percent of G's facilities are used to treat sewage produced by F under a specially negotiated rate agreement. Under the specially negotiated rate agreement, G uses its best efforts to charge F as closely as possible the same amount for its use of G's services as its other customers pay for the same amount of services, although those other customers pay for services based on standard district charges and tax levies. F is prohibited by federal law from paying for the services based on those standard district charges and tax levies. The use of G's facilities by F is on the same basis as the general public. See paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section. Example 15. Arrangements not available for use by natural persons not engaged in a trade or business -- federal use of prisons. Authority E uses all of the proceeds of its bonds to construct a prison. E contracts with federal agency F to house federal prisoners on a space-available, first-come, first-served basis, pursuant to which F will be charged approximately the same amount for each prisoner as other persons that enter into similar transfer agreements. It is reasonably expected that other persons will enter into similar agreements. The term of the use under the contract is not longer than 90 days, and F has no right to renew, although E reasonably expects to renew the contract indefinitely. The prison is not financed for a principal purpose of providing the prison for use by F. It is reasonably expected that during the term of the bonds, more than 10 percent of the prisoners at the prison will be federal prisoners. F's use of the facility is not general public use because this type of use (leasing space for prisoners) is not available for use on the same basis by natural persons not engaged in a trade or business. The issue does not meet the private business use test, however, because the leases satisfy the exception of paragraph (d)(3)(i) of this section. Example 16. Negotiated arm's-length arrangements -- auditorium reserved in advance. (i) City Z issues obligations to finance the construction of a municipal auditorium that it will own and operate. The use of the auditorium will be open to anyone who wishes to use it for a short period of time on a rate-scale basis. Z reasonably expects that the auditorium will be used by schools, church groups, sororities, and numerous commercial organizations. Corporation H, a nongovernmental person, enters into an arm's-length arrangement with Z to use the auditorium for 1 week for each year for a 10-year period (a total of 70 days), pursuant to which H will be charged a specific price reflecting fair market value. On the date the contract is entered into, Z has not established generally applicable rates for future years. Even though the auditorium is not financed for a principal purpose of providing use of the auditorium to H, H is not treated as using the auditorium as a member of the general public because its use is not on the same basis as the general public. Because the term of H's use of the auditorium is longer than 30 days, the arrangement does not meet the exception under paragraph (d)(3)(ii) of this section. (ii) The facts are the same as in Example 16(i), except that H will enter into an arm's-length arrangement with Z to use the auditorium for 1 week for each year for a 4-year period (a total of 28 days), pursuant to which H will be charged a specific price reflecting fair market value. H is not treated as a private business user of the auditorium because its contract satisfies the exception of paragraph (d)(3)(ii) of this section for negotiated arm's-length arrangements. (g) Measurement of private business use--(1) In general. In general, the private business use of proceeds is allocated to property under 1.141-6. The amount of private business use of that property is determined according to the average percentage of private business use of that property during the measurement period. (2) Measurement period--(i) General rule. Except as provided in this paragraph (g)(2), the measurement period of property financed by an issue begins on the later of the issue date of that issue or the date the property is placed in service and ends on the earlier of the last date of the reasonably expected economic life of the property or the latest maturity date of any bond of the issue financing the property (determined without regard to any optional redemption dates). In general, the period of reasonably expected economic life of the property for this purpose is based on reasonable expectations as of the issue date. (ii) Special rule for refundings of short-term obligations. For an issue of short-term obligations that the issuer reasonably expects to refund with a long-term financing (such as bond anticipation notes), the measurement period is based on the latest maturity date of any bond of the last refunding issue with respect to the financed property (determined without regard to any optional redemption dates). (iii) Special rule for reasonably expected mandatory redemptions. If an issuer reasonably expects on the issue date that an action will occur during the term of the bonds to cause either the private business tests or the private loan financing test to be met and is required to redeem bonds to meet the reasonable expectations test of 1.141-2(d)(2), the measurement period ends on the reasonably expected redemption date. (iv) Special rule for ownership by a nongovernmental person. The amount of private business use resulting from ownership by a nongovernmental person is the greatest percentage of private business use in any 1-year period. (v) Anti-abuse rule. If an issuer establishes the term of an issue for a period that is longer than is reasonably necessary for the governmental purposes of the issue for a principal purpose of increasing the permitted amount of private business use, the Commissioner may determine the amount of private business use according to the greatest percentage of private business use in any 1-year period. (3) Determining average percentage of private business use. The average percentage of private business use is the average of the percentages of private business use during the 1-year periods within the measurement period. Appropriate adjustments must be made for beginning and ending periods of less than 1 year. (4) Determining the average amount of private business use for a 1-year period--(i) In general. The percentage of private business use of property for any 1-year period is the average private business use during that year. This average is determined by comparing the amount of private business use during the year to the total amount of private business use and use that is not private business use (government use) during that year. Paragraphs (g)(4)(ii) through (v) of this section apply to determine the average amount of private business use for a 1-year period. (ii) Uses at different times. For a facility in which actual government use and private business use occur at different times (for example, different days), the average amount of private business use generally is based on the amount of time that the facility is used for private business use as a percentage of the total time for all actual use. In determining the total amount of actual use, periods during which the facility is not in use are disregarded. (iii) Simultaneous use. In general, for a facility in which government use and private business use occur simultaneously, the entire facility is treated as having private business use. For example, a governmentally owned facility that is leased or managed by a nongovernmental person in a manner that results in private business use is treated as entirely used for a private business use. If, however, there is also private business use and actual government use on the same basis, the average amount of private business use may be determined on a reasonable basis that properly reflects the proportionate benefit to be derived by the various users of the facility (for example, reasonably expected fair market value of use). For example, the average amount of private business use of a garage with unassigned spaces that is used for government use and private business use is generally based on the number of spaces used for private business use as a percentage of the total number of spaces. (iv) Discrete portion. For purposes of this paragraph (g), measurement of the use of proceeds allocated to a discrete portion of a facility is determined by treating that discrete portion as a separate facility. (v) Relationship to fair market value. For purposes of paragraphs (g)(4)(ii) through (iv) of this section, if private business use is reasonably expected as of the issue date to have a significantly greater fair market value than government use, the average amount of private business use must be determined according to the relative reasonably expected fair market values of use rather than another measure, such as average time of use. This determination of relative fair market value may be made as of the date the property is acquired or placed in service if making this determination as of the issue date is not reasonably possible (for example, if the financed property is not identified on the issue date). In general, the relative reasonably expected fair market value for a period must be determined by taking into account the amount of reasonably expected payments for private business use for the period in a manner that properly reflects the proportionate benefit to be derived from the private business use. (5) Common areas. The amount of private business use of common areas within a facility is based on a reasonable method that properly reflects the proportionate benefit to be derived by the users of the facility. For example, in general, a method that is based on the average amount of private business use of the remainder of the entire facility reflects proportionate benefit. (6) Allocation of neutral costs. Proceeds that are used to pay costs of issuance, invested in a reserve or replacement fund, or paid as fees for a qualified guarantee or a qualified hedge must be allocated ratably among the other purposes for which the proceeds are used. (7) Commencement of measurement of private business use. Generally, private business use commences on the first date on which there is a right to actual use by the nongovernmental person. However, if an issuer enters into an arrangement for private business use a substantial period before the right to actual private business use commences and the arrangement transfers ownership or is an arrangement for other long-term use (such as a lease for a significant portion of the remaining economic life of financed property), private business use commences on the date the arrangement is entered into, even if the right to actual use commences after the measurement period. For this purpose, 10 percent of the measurement period is generally treated as a substantial period. (8) Examples. The following examples illustrate the application of this paragraph (g): Example 1. Research facility. University U, a state owned and operated university, owns and operates a research facility. U proposes to finance general improvements to the facility with the proceeds of an issue of bonds. U enters into sponsored research agreements with nongovernmental persons that result in private business use because the sponsors will own title to any patents resulting from the research. The governmental research conducted by U and the research U conducts for the sponsors take place simultaneously in all laboratories within the research facility. All laboratory equipment is available continuously for use by workers who perform both types of research. Because it is not possible to predict which research projects will be successful, it is not reasonably practicable to estimate the relative revenues expected to result from the governmental and nongovernmental research. U contributed 90 percent of the cost of the facility and the nongovernmental persons contributed 10 percent of the cost. Under this section, the nongovernmental persons are using the facility for a private business use on the same basis as the government use of the facility. The portions of the costs contributed by the various users of the facility provide a reasonable basis that properly reflects the proportionate benefit to be derived by the users of the facility. The nongovernmental persons are treated as using 10 percent of the proceeds of the issue. Example 2. Stadium. (i) City L issues bonds and uses all of the proceeds to construct a stadium. L enters into a long-term contract with a professional sports team T under which T will use the stadium 20 times during each year. These uses will occur on nights and weekends. L reasonably expects that the stadium will be used more than 180 other times each year, none of which will give rise to private business use. This expectation is based on a feasibility study and historical use of the old stadium that is being replaced by the new stadium. There is no significant difference in the value of T's uses when compared to the other uses of the stadium, taking into account the payments that T is reasonably expected to make for its use. Assuming no other private business use, the issue does not meet the private business use test because not more than 10 percent of the use of the facility is for a private business use. (ii) The facts are the same as in Example 2(i), except that L reasonably expects that the stadium will be used not more than 60 other times each year, none of which will give rise to private business use. The issue meets the private business use test because 25 percent of the proceeds are used for a private business use. Example 3. Airport terminal areas treated as common areas. City N issues bonds to finance the construction of an airport terminal. Eighty percent of the leasable space of the terminal will be leased to private air carriers. The remaining 20 percent of the leasable space will be used for the term of the bonds by N for its administrative purposes. The common areas of the terminal, including waiting areas, lobbies, and hallways are treated as 80 percent used by the air carriers for purposes of the private business use test. 1.141-4 Private security or payment test. (a) General rule--(1) Private security or payment. The private security or payment test relates to the nature of the security for, and the source of, the payment of debt service on an issue. The private payment portion of the test takes into account the payment of the debt service on the issue that is directly or indirectly to be derived from payments (whether or not to the issuer or any related party) in respect of property, or borrowed money, used or to be used for a private business use. The private security portion of the test takes into account the payment of the debt service on the issue that is directly or indirectly secured by any interest in property used or to be used for a private business use or payments in respect of property used or to be used for a private business use. For additional rules for output facilities, see 1.141-7. (2) Aggregation of private payments and security. For purposes of the private security or payment test, payments taken into account as private payments and payments or property taken into account as private security are aggregated. However, the same payments are not taken into account as both private security and private payments. (3) Underlying arrangement. The security for, and payment of debt service on, an issue is determined from both the terms of the bond documents and on the basis of any underlying arrangement. An underlying arrangement may result from separate agreements between the parties or may be determined on the basis of all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the issuance of the bonds. For example, if the payment of debt service on an issue is secured by both a pledge of the full faith and credit of a state or local governmental unit and any interest in property used or to be used in a private business use, the issue meets the private security or payment test. (b) Measurement of private payments and security--(1) Scope. This paragraph (b) contains rules that apply to both private security and private payments. (2) Present value measurement--(i) Use of present value. In determining whether an issue meets the private security or payment test, the present value of the payments or property taken into account is compared to the present value of the debt service to be paid over the term of the issue. (ii) Debt service--(A) Debt service paid from proceeds. Debt servi