The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has proposed a new standard on leases for state and local governments based on the principle that all leases are financings of the right to use the underlying asset, according to the Journal of Accountancy. In this regard, the proposed standard differs from the one recently approved by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in that their version divides leases into Type A (mostly things like equipment and vehicles) and B (mostly things like real estate). By adopting a unitary model with all leases treated the same, the GASB proposal is more similar to the one being promoted by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which also has a unitary lease model. The GASB said it decided on a unitary lease model because, even though there are many different kinds of leases, they all contain financing elements that it felt made this singular approach appropriate. 

Despite this difference, the GASB proposal still follows the same fundamental premise of the FASB and IASB models of bringing leases onto the balance sheet as an asset and liability valued at the total lease obligation. 

The GASB is accepting comments on the proposal until May 31, 2016.