One of the biggest issuers in the municipal-bond market is warning it may need to scale back its borrowing plans if federal lawmakers eliminate the tax-exemption on municipal debt.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs New York City’s transit system, anticipates selling $13 billion of debt to help support its 2025—2029 capital plan. But the MTA would need to lower that amount to about $10 billion if the agency were forced to sell taxable bonds rather than tax-exempt, according to Kevin Willens, the agency’s chief financial officer.

“There’s been discussion of eliminating tax exemption for public sector infrastructure projects, which would be a killer to our ability to raise capital,” Willens said Monday during the MTA’s finance committee meeting.

The MTA had $47.3 billion of outstanding debt as of Feb. 12, according to agency data. Its system of subway, bus and commuter rail lines relies on the municipal-bond market to keep its infrastructure in a state of good repair and to also rehabilitate a more than 100-year-old system that gets pummeled by extreme weather events.

“Unless we got additional revenue, we’d have to borrow less because debt service cost for every dollar borrowed would be higher,” Willens said in an interview after Monday’s committee meeting.

Tax-exempt debt helps finance public works projects throughout the U.S. Federal lawmakers are working on potential tax reform legislation that may limit the use of such borrowings or even eliminate it completely. Ending the tax benefit on municipal debt would cost states and local governments about $824 billion over a decade, according to a report by Public Finance Network, a collection of industry groups.

The U.S. trade group representing restaurants urged President Donald Trump to spare food and drinks from tariffs, estimating the levies could cost the industry more than $12 billion and lead to higher prices for consumers. 

In a letter to the president, the National Restaurant Association said companies would have no choice but to raise prices if tariffs came into effect, citing the industry’s already-tight profit margins of 3% to 5% on average. Trump pledged during his campaign to tame inflation. 

“We urge you to exempt food and beverage products to minimize the impact on restaurant owners and consumers,” the association said in the letter viewed by Bloomberg News. “This will help keep menu prices stable.”

The group estimated the potential impact assuming 25% tariffs on food and beverage products from Mexico and Canada.

In its letter, which was sent earlier this month, the association praised some of Trump’s plans, including a proposal to eliminate taxes on tips and his pledge to review trade agreements. But the group also argued that food and beverage products don’t significantly contribute to the trade deficits that Trump has vowed to address.

“For many food products, the appropriate climate and growing conditions do not exist in the US year-round to produce the quantities needed for our businesses,” the group said in the letter, signed by Chief Executive Officer Michelle Korsmo.

Food costs account for about 33 cents of every dollar of sales, so tariffs could result in a profit decline of about 30% for the average small restaurant operator, the association said. The group’s members say that rising food costs are among the main challenges to growth.

Restaurants are battling to attract diners following years of price increases across the economy that have caused many consumers to retrench and prioritize spending on other areas. Large chains have rolled out value menus with varying degrees of success. Some, including McDonald’s Corp., have warned about ongoing pressure on low-income diners.

“Right now, restaurants really do not have much wiggle room,” said Joe Pawlak from food service consulting firm Technomic.

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As this tax season continues, taxpayers have until April 15 to file. While some may prefer to get ahead and file early, many, of course, will procrastinate.

A study from IPX1031, a firm that focuses on tax-deferred like-kind exchanges, noted that 31% of Americans will wait to file their taxes, and determined which U.S. cities have the most procrastinators by analyzing Google search data related to the tax filing deadline.

Seattle has the most tax procrastinators, according to the study, after ranking No. 4 in 2024. Baltimore, which was the top city for tax procrastinators in 2024, ranked No. 3 in 2025. 

Read more about the 30 cities that procrastinate the most on their taxes.

Cities that procrastinate on taxes