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<PAGE> PAGE 2
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SIGNATURE LESLIE L. OGG
TITLE GENERAL COUNSEL
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Independent Auditors' Report on Internal Accounting
Control
The Board of Directors and Shareholders
IDS High Yield Tax-Exempt Fund, Inc.:
In planning and performing our audit of the financial
statements of IDS High Yield Tax-Exempt Fund, Inc. For
the year ended November 30, 1998, we considered its
internal control, including control activities for safeguarding
securities, in order to determine our auditing procedures for
the purpose of expressing our opinion on the financial
statements and to comply with the requirements of Form
N-SAR, not to provide assurance on the internal control.
The management of IDS High Yield Tax-Exempt Fund, Inc.
is responsible for establishing and maintaining of internal
control. In fulfilling this responsibility, estimates and
judgments by management are required to assess the
expected benefits and related costs of controls.
Generally, controls that are relevant to an audit pertain
to the entity's objective of preparing financial
statements for external purposes that are fairly presented
in conformity with generally accepted accounting
principles. Those controls include the safeguarding of
assets against unauthorized acquisition, use or
disposition.
Because of inherent limitations in internal control,
errors or irregularities may occur and not be detected.
Also, projection of any evaluation of internal control to
future periods is subject to the risk that it may become
inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the
effectiveness of the design and operation may
deteriorate.
Our consideration of the internal control would not
necessarily disclose all matters in the internal control
that might be material weaknesses under standards
established by the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants. A material weakness is a condition in
which the design or operation of one or more of the
internal control components does not reduce to a
relatively low level the risk that errors or irregularities
in amounts that would be material in relation to the
financial statements being audited may occur and not be
detected within a timely period by employees in the
normal course of performing their assigned functions.
However, we noted no matters involving the internal
control and its operation, including controls for
safeguarding securities, that we consider to be a material
weakness as defined above.
This report is intended solely for the information and
use of management, the Board of Directors of IDS High
Yield Tax-Exempt Fund, Inc., and the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
KPMG Peat Marwick LLP
Minneapolis, Minnesota
January 8, 1999
EXHIBIT 77D
for IDS High Yield Tax - Exempt Fund, Inc.
At the Board of Directors meetings held on October 7-8, 1998, the following
investment policies were eliminated:
The Fund will not pledge or mortgage its assets beyond 15% of total assets.
If the Portfolio were ever to do so, valuation of the pledged or mortgaged
assets would be based on market values. For purposes of this policy,
collateral arrangements for margin deposits on a futures contract are not
deemed to be a pledge of assets.
The Fund will not invest more than 5% of its total assets in securities whose
issuer or guarantor of principal and interest has been in operation for less
than three years.
The Fund will not invest more than 5% of its net assets in warrants.
The Fund will not invest in voting securities, securities of investment
companies or exploration or development programs such as oil, gas or mineral
leases.
The Fund will not purchase securities of an issuer if the board members and
officers of the Fund, the Portfolio and of American Express Financial
Corporations (AEFC) hold more than a certain percentage of the issuer's
outstanding securities. If the holdings of all board members and officers of
the Fund, the Portfolio and AEFC who own more than 0.5% of an issuer's
securities are added together, and if in total they own more than 5%, the
Portfolio will not purchase securities of that issuer.
