Help Given to Small Businesses, Farmers, Schools

(St. Paul) – Last week, the Minnesota Senate approved with bipartisan support a major Republican-led Economic Recovery Act to help small businesses battling financial hardship caused by the coronavirus and the stay-home order. The $330 million bill emphasizes three elements that will benefit impacted businesses and their workers: liquidity to preserve cash flows, stability to give businesses some level of confidence moving forward, and recovery aid to help them push through the pandemic.

“Even with emergency federal and state assistance programs, we are still getting large volumes of calls every single day from small businesses and workers who are right on the edge of survival,” said Senate Tax Committee Chairman Roger Chamberlain (R-Lino Lakes), the bill’s author. “Businesses badly need cash flow and stability if they have any hope of retaining workers and eventually rebuilding when this over. The economic destruction of the coronavirus and the stay-home order has made this recovery package more urgent than ever.”

Small businesses struggling with cash flow due to the crisis will be able to keep more money on hand thanks to delayed tax payments for S-corporations, partnerships, and C-corporations; delayed installments of estimated tax payments; delayed accelerated sales taxpayments, and delayed general statewide business property tax payments.

“The tax bill this year wasn’t what we expected, due to unforeseen emergency expenditures,” said Senator Mark Koran (R-North Branch). “Nonetheless, I am very pleased that retroactive Section 179 conformity is in bill, as it was a high priority from the beginning and will help farmers and small businesses significantly.”

The bill provides full, retroactive conformity to Section 179 of the federal tax code, which will allow farmers and other small business owners to deduct large equipment purchases.

More families with children in school will be eligible for the K-12 tax credit, thanks to a higher qualifying income threshold.

Other provisions in the bill include:

• A fairer school equalization aid formula, so districts with low property wealth will get more revenue
• An elimination of sunset and continued funding for the Angel Investment Tax Credit
• Charitable gaming tax relief to keep more tax dollars in local communities
• Making federal Paycheck Protection Program loans non-taxable on Minnesota taxes
• A reduced tax rate for low-income qualifying low-income class 4D rental property

Federal and state governments have already authorized extensions of income tax payments, sales and use tax payments, MinnesotaCare and Provider tax payments, and occupation taxes paid by mining companies.