The 2021 special session convened yesterday to finish up the state budget agreements before the deadline of July 1. The agreed-upon budget bill for Taxes has been released already. The spreadsheet information can be found here.
The agreed-upon bill includes a bipartisan proposal that endorses the initial agreement reached by legislative leaders and the governor of conforming to the federal treatment of business loans and unemployment compensation and a policy change in payment schedules of sales taxes and a film production tax credit. There is over $900 million in one-time and ongoing relief for Minnesota businesses and individuals recovering from COVID-19 and conforming to federal tax laws and improvements to the Working Family Tax Credit and created a Homeless Prevention Aid program.
“I salute the efforts of Senators Nelson and Weber and their House counterparts, Representatives Marquart and Youakim, in developing this balanced proposal,” said Senator Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope), Senate DFL lead on the Taxes Committee. “I appreciate being included in arriving at compromises that respected the priorities of both the Senate and the House. I am pleased to be a co-author of Senate File 26 that represents the agreement we reached.”
Other features include tax relief for veterans claiming the property tax refund, a continuation of the historic preservation credit, one time home harmless supplemental local government aid, an extension of the “angel investment credit” for startup tech companies, a new Housing Tax Credit for investors, increasing the market value exclusion for business property, allowing certain local governments to ask voters to approve a local sales tax for regional projects. Other federal conformity features include tax forgiveness for homeowners whose mortgage debt was forgiven, some small business loans, rules for partnership audits, and proposals to expand uses of tax increment financing and improvements in the tax treatment of low-income rental properties.