Ag Docket Blog
The period for making Paycheck Protection Program loans through the CARES Act ended August 8. The program enabled 5.2 million loans, with $525 billion in proceeds disbursed to U.S. small businesses. When all was said and done, nearly $137 billion was left on the table.
On August 28, 2020, IRS issued Notice 2020-65, 2.5 pages of guidance related to the President’s August 8 payroll tax deferral Memorandum (Memorandum on Deferring Payroll Tax Obligations in Light of the Ongoing COVID-19 Disaster).
On August 25, 2020, Governor Reynolds announced that she was allocating $100 million of Iowa CARES Act relief funds to new agricultural programs created to offset the impact of COVID-19 on farmers and renewable fuel businesses. Several of these programs are administered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) and the others are administered by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS). The requirements of these programs, as well as the rapidly approaching application deadlines, are detailed below.
A recent case from the Iowa Court of Appeals illustrates how redemption works after a farm foreclosure and warns debtors that they must strictly follow the letter of the law to redeem their land.
Update: On August 28, 2020, IRS issued guidance on this new program. Read about it here.
As of September 2, no progress has been made on a stimulus package. Congress returns from the Labor Day Recess on September 8.
Despite the recess for COVID-19, the Iowa Legislature passed many laws this term, many of them effective July 1, 2020. Below is summary of the new Iowa laws impacting agricultural producers and rural landowners.
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. The law does not allow businesses that have already obtained a loan to receive a second one.
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