The Minnesota Senate passed legislation (SF 263) Thursday, conforming Minnesota tax law with federal guidance to exempt recipients of Paycheck Protection Plan loans from state taxes. The measure provides immediate relief for small businesses who are in the midst of filing their taxes. State Senator Karla Bigham stated that this is immediate relief for those businesses who did the right thing and utilized PPP loans to keep their employees on the payroll during this pandemic, adding that now, the state should do the right thing by making sure these same small businesses do not face any unexpected expenses for helping their workers. Passage of the legislation comes the same day as President Biden signed into law an additional federal relief package, which will provide approximately $4.9 billion in federal aid to the state, counties, cities, schools, and Minnesota’s tribal nations. Much of this funding is one-time and has to be spent on COVID-19 related needs.
