ST. PAUL – Legislation Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Acton Township, authored to spare venues shuttered by the state during the pandemic from paying state taxes on relief received House approval on Monday.
“Minnesota was the only state in the union that was still taxing these relief grants for shuttered venues,” Urdahl said. “That was wrong, it needed to be fixed, and I’m glad we took corrective action. A lot of movie theaters, for example, suffered through the pandemic and this legislation gives them some relief.”
Urdahl’s provision was included in a larger tax conformity package the House overwhelmingly passed so state taxpayers can take advantage of numerous tax provisions already approved at the federal level. Urdahl said federal conformity is needed in Minnesota to ease filing compliance burdens and to help industries that were hardest hit from pandemic shutdowns – especially restaurant, hospitality, and entertainment industries.
Tax year 2023 marks five years since our state tax code has been conformed, which Urdahl said is the longest the state has been out of conformity in decades. Urdahl said at least seven federal bills have been passed into law since Minnesota last enacted legislation to match congressional changes.
State officials indicate approving the bill (H.F. 31) by Jan. 13 allows tax software to be updated in time for the 2023 filing season. Language the House passed Monday specifies taxpayers have until Dec. 31 to file an amended return. With 132-0 passage in the House, the bill is now in the hands of the Senate and, pending that body’s approval, will be presented to the governor for enactment.
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