We have written detailed reviews of Iowa law impacting agricultural producers and landowners. Access these reviews by clicking on the tiles below. You can also review Iowa cases on a particular subject by searching our list of Iowa case law reviews at the bottom of this page.
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Under the common law, a fraudulent conveyance can be rescinded. A fraudulent conveyance is established when an owner of the property seeks to place the property beyond the reach of creditors or prejudices the legal or equitable rights of creditors. The court looks for badges of fraud such as inadequate consideration for the conveyance, insolvency of the transferor, and threat of third-party claims.
Minority shareholders in a small, close-held farming corporation are in a precarious position. They have no control over management of the corporation and, for example, can’t force dividends to be paid or force a corporate liquidation. The majority shareholders owe the minority certain fiduciary duties such as acting in good faith, but the majority also has the right to operate the corporation as they see fit under the “business judgment rule.”
A mutual mistake in the formation of a contract is a material mistake of belief not in accord with the facts that exists at the time the parties formed the contract. Generally, a mutual mistake will allow the party adversely affected by the mistake to void the contract unless the party is the one who bears the risk of the mistake such as through allocation in the agreement or the party knows it has limited knowledge. The existence of a mutual mistake must be proven by clear, satisfactory, and convincing evidence.
The defendant, a designer and builder of hog confinement facilities constructed a facility in Ida County. During construction, the defendant installed a propane power washer in the facility’s washroom. While using the toilet in the washroom, an employee was overcome by carbon monoxide fumes and died. The decedent’s widow sued for wrongful death, and the defendant requested that the plaintiff, its insurer, provide a legal defense and indemnification under two insurance policies.
To qualify for the credit, the property owner must be a resident of Iowa and actually live on the property on July 1 andfor at least six months of every year. The only exceptions are persons in the military and nursing homes who otherwise qualify.
Sign-up for the credit is at the assessor’s office by July 1 of the year the credit is first claimed. Once a person qualifies, the credit continues until the property is sold or until the owner no longer qualifies.
Is an ATV that is used for use in a farming operation, such as for daily checking and feeding of cattle, spraying for weeds, and checking fences, exempt from Iowa sales tax on the purchase? ATVs can qualify for the exemption, but in many instances the IDOR took the position that they did not. But, a recent IDOR ruling may signal a change of heart.
On May 24, 2007, Gov. Culver signed S.F. 580 into law. The legislation provides for a state tax amnesty program to be administered by the Iowa Department of Revenue (IDOR) from September 4, 2007, through October 31, 2007. The amnesty program covers tax liabilities delinquent as of December 31, 2006, and authorizes a taxpayer, during the amnesty period, to pay the tax due with one-half of the interest which would otherwise be charged and without any penalty or civil or criminal prosecution.
When an estate is large enough to encounter the federal estate tax (very few are), it is critical to utilize appropriate estate planning techniques to minimize (or eliminate) the impact of the tax. For the extremely wealthy, family limited partnerships can be an effective tool for lifetime gifting and for achieving valuation discounts on transferred interests at death. They are particularly useful when trying to pass a family business down from one generation to the next. But, they may not be the best vehicle to pass property interests to upon death when factoring in the state inheritanc
The IDOR has issued a policy letter to explain that the sales price of a crane that is purchased for use in installing wind energy conversion property is exempt from sales and use tax. However, the purchase of equipment used to construct roads for use in the construction of wind energy conversion property is not exempt. Under Sec.
The Iowa Department of Revenue (IDOR) has explained that Iowa consumers' use tax is due on the last day of the month that next succeeds the quarterly period, even if payment is done in installments. That has implications for asset acquisitions, and may come as a surprise to some.
The Iowa Department of Revenue (IDOR) has issued a policy letter to explain that a meat locker does not qualify as a manufacturer for sale and use tax purposes because its principal business is as a retailer and wholesaler of meats. IDOR noted that a meat locker serves three types of customers - farmers, other companies and the public. Farmers have their own animals processed for human consumption, and other companies also have animals processed for human consumption by the general public after purchasing the meat cuts at a retail outlet. Iowa law exempts from tax the sale of machinery a
The Iowa Department of Revenue (IDOR) has issued a memorandum dealing with several questions about Iowa-sourced income. In the memo, IDOR noted that a business conducted in Iowa is subject to Iowa income tax even though the person conducting the business lives out-of-state. Also, IDOR reasoned that a real estate commission for the sale of Iowa property that is earned by a real estate agent who was physically present in Iowa when the sale was made is Iowa-sourced income. Likewise, income earned from Iowa clients by an out-of-state accountant for services performed outside of Iowa is not I
In late March, the Iowa Senate unanimously approved changes to the state's existing tax credit scheme as applied to wind energy production. The changes are designed to allow more wind projects to be able to utilize renewable energy tax credits. The legislation (SF 456) would allow private colleges and universities, community colleges, Iowa Board of Regents-controlled institutions, K-12 schools, and public hospitals to generate power for on-site use and to qualify for the existing credit of one-cent per kilowatt-hour. SF 456 would also relax other restrictions on the type of facilities th
The Iowa General Assembly completed its 2009 session in the early morning hours of April 26. It will be a memorable session - one that included significant questions being raised about the extent of public input on a tax issue and the failure to take action to either legitimize homosexual marriage or clarify existing Iowa law concerning its illegitimacy. The legislature also approved a massive budget (the largest in Iowa history) of $6.258 billion and $765 million in new borrowing. Here's a rundown on the most important tax issues the legislature dealt with:
The IDOR has recently issued three policy letters concerning various aspects of the Iowa capital gains exclusion, the application of Iowa inheritance tax to trusts and whether the vehicle trade-in credit requires the same natural ownership.