If someone you know died in 2010, the great estate tax timing everyone assumes they got may turn out not to be so great after all.

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The company said in its IPO prospectus that the rate of smart-grid adoption has slowed due to the "timing and tax treatment" of U.S. government stimulus funding.

WSJ: Silver Spring Networks Soars in Debut

At the same time, however, it is almost impossible to contemplate large projects without debt, nor to smooth over the minor ups and downs of the economic cycle and the timing differences between tax receipts and spending demands.

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