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Tax conformity a priority for Minnesota Farm Bureau

Minnesota Farm Bureau continues to seek changes to the state tax code to conform with the federal government.

Farm Bureau director of public policy Amber Hanson-Glaeser says last year efforts in the legislature to bring Minnesota’s Section 179 equipment expensing rule in line with the federal tax provision fell short.

“We did see that bill get vetoed last year. Hopefully this year we’re going to look at some property tax issues, that’s always a priority for us. But I think taxes affect our small businesses in such a big way, so making sure we have a tax code that works for rural Minnesota is going to be very important this year.”

A year ago, the Minnesota House, Senate, and then-governor Mark Dayton supported raising the Section 179 deduction limit from $25,000 to the federal level of one million dollars.  But differences in other areas of the tax bill led to the Dayton veto.

Hanson-Glaeser tells Brownfield it’s important farmers and ranchers reach out to their elected officials sooner rather than later on important issues like tax conformity.