The Minnesota Senate passed bipartisan legislation (SF263) Thursday to provide tax relief to Minnesota businesses that received Paycheck Protection Plan loans and to Minnesotans that received bonus unemployment compensation from the CARES Act.
“While today’s bill was not perfect, it does deliver important tax relief for businesses and workers most impacted by COVID-19 in our state,” said Senator Matt Klein (DFL-Mendota Heights). “With many businesses in the midst of filing their taxes, there is an urgent need to move quickly to deliver this relief and provide necessary clarity for those small businesses that utilized the PPP program to help their workers.”
A member of the Senate Taxes Committee, Senator Klein also offered an amendment to extend the deadline for Minnesota businesses most impacted by COVID-19 to access grants set aside for them in the December special session. That amendment was accepted by the bill author, and passed with the final bill.
“I and other Senators heard from constituents that, through no fault of their own, they were unable to access grants that the legislature created during the December special session,” said Senator Klein. “This amendment ensures that businesses that should qualify are able to by extending the timeline for dispersing these grants, which currently have $20 million in funds that are still available to small businesses.”
Passage of the legislation comes the same day as President Biden signed into law an additional federal relief package, which will provide approximately $4.9 billion in federal aid to the state, counties, cities, schools, and Minnesota’s tribal nations. Much of this funding is one-time, which should be used for additional COVID-19 relief targeting those Minnesotans hardest hit by the pandemic.
“While this is a positive step, we cannot lose sight of the fact that far too many Minnesotans remain in crisis, and we must continue to move with urgency in providing additional relief for working families,” said Senator Klein. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the tax committee to deliver relief for those hardest hit by this pandemic.”
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