Treasury to Add to Bond Sales on Net

Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers Tuesday will unveil plans to sell U.S. Savings Bonds on the Internet, the Treasury said.

The Treasury already offers its tradable bills, notes and bonds to individual investors via the Internet through the Treasury Direct program. Savings Bonds aren’t tradable.

There is no sales commission on the Savings Bonds. Interest is exempt from state and local taxes, and federal tax is deferred until redemption.

Denominations range from $50 to $10,000. Traditional Series “EE” bonds are sold at half their face value.

The Treasury also sells Series “I” inflation-indexed bonds, which are sold at their face value.

Savings Bonds stop drawing interest after 30 years.

Separately, the Treasury will announce its semiannual rate on Savings Bonds on Monday.