News

Long road ahead for Section 179 conformity

Minnesota lawmakers will be scrutinizing Section 179 depreciation throughout this year’s legislative session.

Representative Jeanne Poppe, chair of the House Ag and Food, Finance and Policy Division, says raising the expense cap to the federal level would be costly.

“But that price-tag is kind of short-term. It’s a big price the first year, and this might be the year to try to fix it.”

The Austin Democrat tells Brownfield that’s because there could be a surplus of mostly one-time dollars.  But she says nothing is guaranteed this early in the session.

“I think lots of things are going to be negotiated. One of those things being the size of a bonding bill. Another would be whether or not there’s a tax bill, and what are the aspects of the tax bill that are included.”

Poppe points out Section 179 is not just a priority for farmers.  She says the Chamber of Commerce is also urging lawmakers to support full conformity because of implications to small businesses in Minnesota.