June 10, 2024
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Many Iowans have been impacted by recent severe storms. This post summarizes relevant notices and relief issued by IRS, FEMA, and the Iowa Department of Revenue.
Ag Docket
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June 7, 2024|On Thursday, June 6, 2024, the Iowa Department of Revenue announced that the revised 2023 Form IA 100A (Iowa Capital Gain Deduction – Cattle, Horses, or Breeding Livestock) is ready to file.
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June 6, 2024|On June 4, 2024, the U.S.
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May 10, 2024|The Iowa Legislature had a busy 2024 session, passing 187 bills through both the House and the Senate. This post reviews the enrolled bills of most interest to agricultural producers and landowners.
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April 28, 2024|On April 19, 2024, the Iowa Supreme Court reversed a decision from the Iowa Court of Appeals and ruled that shareholders of a family farm corporation did not prove their breach of fiduciary duty claims against their father and brother.
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March 13, 2024|Iowa has a new rule when it comes to boundary by acquiescence and property transferred from a trust. In a rare reversal of precedent, the Iowa Supreme Court overruled Heer v.
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February 28, 2024|As March 1 approaches, we review the estimated tax rules for farmers.
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January 23, 2024|Update: On January 31, 2024, the House passed this bill with a bipartisan vote of 357 to 70. As of February 12, 2024, the future of the bill remains uncertain.
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January 16, 2024|In two separate lawsuits, several advocacy groups challenged Iowa’s Farm Trespass law and Trespass Surveillance statute. In both cases, a judge from the Southern District of Iowa previously held that the law violated the First Amendment and granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Reynolds, 591 F.Supp.3d 397 (S.D. Iowa 2022); Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Reynolds, 630 F.Supp.3d 1105 (S.D. Iowa 2022).
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals released two separate opinions on January 8, 2024, and reversed the district court’s decisions, ruling that both statutes passed intermediate scrutiny and were, thus, constitutional. The cases are Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Reynolds, No. 22-1830, (8th Cir. Jan. 8, 2024) and Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Reynolds, No. 22-3464 (8th Cir. Jan. 8, 2024).
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January 11, 2024|Note: In 2024, the Iowa Legislature reinstated the capital gain deduction for the sale of breeding, draft, dairy, and sport livestock, retroactively to include the 2023 tax year. Read more about this change.
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January 4, 2024|On December 21, 2023, IRS announced a Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) through which eligible employers may repay 80 percent of the employee retention credit (ERC) to which they were not entitled and avoid civil litigation, penalties, and intere
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November 30, 2023|Update: On March 1, 2024, in the case of National Small Business United v. Yellen, No. 5:22-cv-01448 (N.D.
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September 28, 2023|On September 8, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) published a revised definition of “waters of the United States” or WOTUS. 88 FR 61964. To conform with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Sackett v. EPA, 143 S. Ct. 1322 (2023) ruling, the agencies made various changes including the removal of the “significant nexus” standard and amending the definition of “adjacent.” The new rule went into effect September 8, 2023. Because the revision was required to make the Rule comply with the Sackett decision, no notice and opportunity for public comment was necessary.
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September 1, 2023|On August 9, 2023, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed that a boundary by acquiescence was established between a farm and neighboring homeowner. The parties treated a fence as the boundary line for over ten years. Even though a homeowner later tore the fence down, the boundary line was still clearly marked from farming activities. Therefore, the Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s finding in favor of the plaintiffs.
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August 25, 2023|A commercial fishing business harvested shrimp by dragging nets along the ocean floor. The nets would trap other marine animals in addition to the shrimp. The fishermen would throw this “bycatch” back into the ocean. A conservation group brought a citizen-suit under the Clean Water Act (CWA) claiming that the company violated the CWA by 1) disturbing the sediment when it dragged nets along the ocean floor and 2) throwing the bycatch back into state waters bordering the Atlantic Ocean. The district court granted the fishing company’s motion to dismiss. On appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the court affirmed.
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June 28, 2023Producers have until July 14, 2023, to apply for disaster relief under Phase 2 of the Emergency Relief Program (ERP Phase 2) or the Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP).
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May 26, 2023|On May 25, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court significantly narrowed the definition of “waters of the United States.” Sackett v. EPA, No. 21-454 (2023).
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May 19, 2023|California’s Proposition 12 is here to stay...unless Congress decides to weigh in.
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March 7, 2023|A recent case from the Iowa Supreme Court highlights the importance of carefully completing and reviewing beneficiary designations for IRAs and other retirement accounts.
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January 29, 2023|In a January 27, 2023, opinion, the Iowa Supreme Court found that a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship was converted to a tenancy in common when one of the owners transferred her undivided interest to a revocable living trust.