Called the 2020 Omnibus Bill, HF 2641 makes a number of changes to Iowa tax law. Signed into law by the Governor on June 29, 2020, the primary intent of the bill was to streamline the administration of Iowa’s tax laws and coordinate their interaction with federal law.
On June 23, 2020, IRS issued Notice 2020-51, providing guidance for the waiver of 2020 required minimum distributions (RMD) made possible by the CARES Act. The guidance also provides sample plan amendments.
Update: On July 4, 2020, President Trump signed S.4116 into law. This new law allows new PPP loans to be made through August 8, 2020.
On Friday, June 19, IRS issued Notice 2020-50, expanding the definition of “qualified individuals” eligible for coronavirus-related distributions from eligible retirement accounts.
On June 19, 2020, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the Iowa Department of Revenue rationally interpreted Iowa Code § 422.7(21)(a) to prevent a typical cash rental landlord from taking the Iowa capital gain deduction.
On June 16, the Small Business Administration and the Treasury issued guidance on forgiveness, as it applies to the self-employed, in light of the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act enacted June 5.
On June 8, 2020, IRS and Treasury issued proposed regulations (REG-109755-19) that will (once they become final) open the door for those involved with health care sharing ministries and direct primary care arrangements to realize tax savings for t
Update: On June 19, the Ninth Circuit denied the plaintiff's emergency motion to enforce the vacature and hold EPA in contempt.
Update: Late on June 8, the U.S. EPA issued a final cancellation order for the registrations of the three herbicides impacted by the Ninth Circuit's ruling.
On May 29, 2020, Katie Kramer and Justin Muir, agricultural program specialists from the Iowa USDA-FSA office, and ISU agricultural economist Chad Hart joined us for a webinar on the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.
Please join us for a free webinar on Friday, May 29, to review the CFAP application process.
Update: USDA has released more guidance, including an example of AD-3114, the CFAP application, in Notice CFAP-4.
Update: Late on May 13, Treasury extended the deadline for repaying a PPP loan without review from May 14 to May 18.
Update: On May 13, 2020, SBA and Treasury issued additional guidance providing a safe harbor and extending the deadline for returning a loan to May 18.
Note: On May 4, SBA began accepting applications for EIDL advances from agricultural businesses only.
It’s official. The President signed H.R. 266, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, into law today. This law provides another opportunity for some small businesses, including agricultural producers, to get in line for a potential loan to help them through the next few months.
Late on April 30, 2020, IRS issued Notice 2020-32, stating that no deduction is allowed for an expense that is otherwise deductible if the payment of the expense results in forgiveness of a covered loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
The question before the U.S. Supreme Court was whether the Clean Water Act requires a permit when pollutants originate from a point source but are conveyed to navigable waters by a nonpoint source, in this case, groundwater. Many had hoped the Court’s answer to this question would clarify longtime ambiguity under the CWA. But given the complexity of the issue, that was not to be.
Note: This case was reversed on appeal on 11/25/2020.
A bankruptcy court recently ruled in a Chapter 12 case that federal and state taxing authorities do not have the right to offset a refund with tax debt stripped of its priority by 11 U.S.C. § 1232. This was a court’s first opportunity to rule on this question since the passage of the Family Farmer Bankruptcy Clarification Act of 2017. The case was In re DeVries, No.19-00181 (Bankr. N.D. Iowa April 28, 2020).
The Iowa Supreme Court recently issued a decision in a key case involving competing claims by a secured lender and a grain elevator over the costs of storing and drying the grain. The April 17, 2020, case--MidWestOne Bank v. Heartland Co-op, No. 19-1302 (Iowa 2020)--has caused grain warehouses and lenders to take a closer look at their business practices.
Late Friday, April 17, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the creation of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).
