On Tuesday May 30th, Minnesota's Governor Mark Dayton signed a bill authored by Rep. Nels Pierson (R-Rochester) and Sen. Mike Goggin (R-Redwing) that supports the transition of land to young and beginning farmers through a new tax credit inventive. Through the bill, landowners receive a state income tax credit when they sell or rent land or agricultural assets to a beginning farmer. The credit equals five percent of the sale price or ten percent of the cash rent, or fifteen percent for a cash share agreement. In turn, the beginning farmer must take a farm management course to qualify for the tax incentive and would be eligible for a tax credit covering the full cost of training. The tax credit is effective in the 2018 tax year and is Read More...
Christianson at the Distillers Grain Symposium
Christianson PLLP's Connie Lindstrom, Senior Biofuels Analyst and Jamey Cline, Business Development Director, presented at the 21st annual Distillers Grains Symposium in Indianapolis, IN on May 17, 2017. This Symposium provides the latest information on issues in the industry such as distillers grains marketing, animal nutrition, processing technologies, and governmental regulations. At this event, Connie and Jamey provided valuable information to attendees regarding the latest data and trends from the Christianson Biofuels Benchmarking system as well as current concerns regarding the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). During Connie's presentation, her focus was on creating awareness of the ethanol-to-coproduct profitability Read More...
Business Day at the Capitol
How will changes in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) impact you? On March 8th, 2017, Christianson’s Sara DeRoo, Partner, went to the Minnesota State Capitol for Business Day at the Capitol with the Willmar Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce. At this event, businesses were given the opportunity to participate in the discussion regarding the bills that will soon be brought to the Governor. Here’s what Sara had to say about the legislative priorities: “Both our business and individual clients have been impacted by changes in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) over the past several years. With substantial changes potentially coming related to the ACA, our firm is committed to stay on top of these updates and how this may impact our clients. We Read More...
Tax day is quickly approaching. Are you ready?
Time for Taxes! Tax time has arrived. The final day to file without extension on income earned in 2016 and pay your taxes is April 18th. If you haven’t filed yet, forgot to file, or simply haven’t had time, you can file an extension without penalty on or before April 18th. This extension allows you to extend your filing (not the estimated payment) to October 16th, 2017. Note that this option extends the time to file your tax return, but does not extend the requirement to pay the taxes. If you don’t pay an estimate of your tax owed, you will owe penalty and interest. Tax Extension Filing Process There are three ways to request an automatic extension of time to file a U.S. individual income tax return. You can pay all or part of Read More...
MNsure Announces One-Week Special Enrollment Period to Help Minnesotans Take Advantage of Recently Enacted Premium Relief
MNsure is allowing a one-week special enrollment period (SEP) to allow Minnesotans additional time to purchase health insurance. This period runs February 1st and ends February 8th. This extension period will also allow enrollees to benefit from the state’s new law providing a 25 percent reduction in health insurance premiums. This 25 percent discount applies automatically; enrollees do not need to take additional action to receive the discount. Individuals who already receive advanced premium tax credits are not eligible for the 25 percent discount. You can get more news on this and other MN Health Coverage information by going to the MNsure website, https://www.mnsure.org/. Contact us today toll-free at 888-852-5937 or 320-235-5937 Read More...
MN State Tax Changes: Governor Dayton Signs Federal Tax Conformity Legislation
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed a "tax conformity" bill last week in order to align MN tax law with changes in federal tax law. The legislation was approved January 13, 2017 retroactively conforming the state’s corporate franchise and personal income tax to most federal changes enacted since December 31, 2014, for tax year 2015 and following years. No changes were made to bonus and Sec 179 expensing amounts. Will these changes affect you? Here are the most notable changes: Deduction for up to $4,000 of qualified tuition and related expenses. Exclusion for discharge of indebtedness income on principal residence. Itemized deduction for mortgage insurance premiums on a principal residence. Deduction in adjusted gross Read More...
2016 Income Tax Filing Opening and Potential Delays
January 1st doesn’t just mean a new year; it also means a new tax season. This coming tax season comes with a few changes taxpayers should know. The 2017 individual income tax filing season for 2016 opens January 23, 2017. While you can file your taxes before this date, the IRS won’t accept or start processing the return until their systems open on Jan. 23rd. However, you will have a few extra days to file your 2016 return. This year’s filing deadline is April 18, 2017. Changes to this year’s tax season also include potential delays in tax return processing. New identity theft and fraud safeguards put in place by Congress means those claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) may face Read More...
An Ethanol Producer’s Guide to Tier 3 Sulfur Reporting
New Year, New Regs: An Ethanol Producer’s Guide to Tier 3 Sulfur Reporting. Ethanol producers looking to draft their new year’s resolutions need not look much further than the Code of Federal Regulations. That’s because they have already had their new year’s resolution written for them, courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency's new Tier 3 Sulfur Rule. Specifically: Spend more time worrying about the sulfur content of the ethanol you produce. The Impact: At first glance, that may seem like a small request (since ethanol contains very little sulfur other than that which is contained in the denaturant added to the fuel). However, reality has never been one to interfere with a larger regulatory agenda. So beginning on Read More...
Annual RIN Attest Engagements
Business moves at the speed of trust. That’s why more than 130 RIN generators, obligated parties, marketers, and blenders trust Christianson to perform their annual RIN attest engagement required by the RFS and EPA every year. Christianson is full-service certified public accounting firm located in Willmar, Minnesota that has been serving the biofuels industry for nearly 30 years with audit, accounting, compliance, consulting, software, and tax solutions. As a partner with your business to keep you up to date on the latest requirements, we provide a full range of compliance services and have completed more than 1,000 RIN attest engagements in total. Christianson has an informal partnership with EcoEngineers to provide our Read More...
Federal Judge Blocks Overtime Rule
Federal Judge Blocks Overtime Rule An employee’s exempt status is based on duties performed, not wages paid. A U.S. District Judge issued a nationwide injunction stopping implementation of the Department of Labor’s rule on overtime pay for exempt employees. It was set to take effect on December 1. According to the Washington Times, the judge ruled: “Congress defined the … exemption with regard to duties, which does not include a minimum salary level,” Judge Mazzant wrote. “The Department’s role is to carry out Congress’s intent. If Congress intended the salary requirement to supplant the duties test, then Congress, and not the Department, should make that change.” The full ruling is 20 pages, but this paragraph captures the essence Read More...