The rationale for viewing the preferences as expenditures, rather than mere tax breaks, was (and it) that their budgetary, economic, and distributional effects are often indistinguishable from those of spending programs. Consider, for example, the tax-exempt bonds issued by state and local governments. Typically, these bonds pay much lower interest rates than taxable bonds of comparable risk. Because investors focus on after-tax returns, they are willing to accept the lower interest payments in return for the exemption from federal taxes. In the end, many investors come out ahead.