January 15, 2013
For Immediate Release: IRS to Audit 2002 City of Tucson Bonds
The Rio Nuevo District Board is gathering what information it has in order to respond to an audit request by the Internal Revenue Service of the 2002 Certificates of Participation issued in connection with bonds issued for the purchase and lease back of the Tucson Convention Center in 2002.
The newly reconstituted District remains committed to transparency and accountability and is cooperating fully with the agency and will release the IRS audit when complete.
“This transaction was well before the reconstituted board was placed in control by the Legislature but we will provide them with all the information in our possession,” said Fletcher McCusker, Chairman of newly reconstituted Rio Nuevo Board. “We welcome the review”.
About Rio Nuevo: In 1999 voters approved the creation of the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District (District). The District is both a municipal stadium district and a state taxing district. The voters authorized the District to receive an incremental portion of State-shared funds derived from transaction privilege taxes (i.e. sales tax called TIF Funds) collected from within the District boundaries within the City of Tucson city limits. The newly reconstituted Board is in negotiations with the City of Tucson to recoup some of the funds spent by the District and create a baseline accounting in order to proceed with the development the public voted for when they created the Rio Nuevo TIF District in 1999.