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Concern COVID-19 response limits chances of Section 179 conformity
Among the countless questions surrounding COVID-19, Minnesota farmers are wondering if the response to the outbreak lessens the chances of Section 179 conformity.
Minnesota House Ag and Food, Finance and Policy division chair Jeanne Poppe says the coronavirus has and will continue to interrupt the legislative process.
She tells Brownfield that means lawmakers will have to decide on “must have’s” for the 2020 Session.
“(is a) Tax bill (a must have)? And that’s where Section 179 would be. I’m not sure if we’re going to get to full conformity. That would cost over $200 million this year.”
Poppe says Section 179 conformity, a major priority for commodity groups in the state, was going to be a heavy lift this year regardless of coronavirus.
“But Paul Marquardt, who is the chair of the House Tax Committee, has been working on alternatives. One is a much lower cost, but it would help deal with the like-kind part of Section 179 that last year cost a number of people when they were buying machinery.”
Current Minnesota law caps Section 179 expensing at $25,000. The federal limit is $1 million.
