61.6k views
2 votes
An investor in the 28 percent tax bracket is trying to decide which of two bonds to purchase. One is a corporate bond carrying an 8 percent coupon and selling at par. The other is a municipal bond with a 5½ percent coupon, and it, too, sells at par. Assuming all other relevant factors are equal, which bond should the investor select?

1 Answer

3 votes

Answer:

Step-by-step explanation:

If a coupon paying bond is selling at par value, it means that the yield to maturity (YTM) is equal to the coupon rate.Therefore, these bonds have the following YTMs;

Pretax;

Corporate bond's YTM = 8%

Municipal bond's YTM = 5.5%

With regard to taxes, corporate bonds interests are not tax-exempt whereas municipal bond interests are.

Therefore,

After tax YTM = ; Pretax rate(1-tax)

Corporate bond = 0.08(1-0.28) = 0.0576 or 5.76%

Municipal bond ; will remain the same = 5.5%

The investor should select the corporate bond as it offers a higher after tax yield than the Municipal bond.

User Sayed Sohan
by
9.2k points
Welcome to QAmmunity.org, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of our community.