Facing COVID-19 challenges together
Cynthia Bauerly, Minnesota Department of Revenue commissioner | June/July 2020 Footnote
Editor's note: Updated May 29, 2020
Those of us who work with taxes — including accountants and tax administrators — are used to change. Nearly every year brings updates to federal and state tax codes, which requires no small amount of flexibility, intelligence and patience.
However, 2020 has presented a new set of challenges that exceed the reach of our usual yardstick.
Since March, the COVID-19 pandemic and measures to slow the spread of the virus have impacted thousands of Minnesotans and businesses. The crisis has slowed our economy, crimped state revenues and dramatically affected the filing season for tax year 2019.
Key partners
The Minnesota Department of Revenue, MNCPA and our other partners have worked through an array of new questions and issues — on top of the regular work and responsibilities that come with the filing season. One of the biggest challenges is how quickly the situation can change and new issues emerge.
I want to thank each of you for the advice, support and information you provide to help your clients and businesses meet their Minnesota tax obligations. Your dedication is especially important to the people and businesses we all serve at this challenging time.
We appreciate the MNCPA reaching out to us during this crisis. COVID-19 has in some way affected virtually everyone who lives, works or owns a business in Minnesota or, for that matter, the rest of our nation and world.
Your questions and feedback helped us understand the myriad ways in which the pandemic has impacted your clients’ lives, businesses and how they comply with state tax laws.
Customer focus
Our team at Revenue continues to work with policymakers and administrators at all levels of government to review the impact of these changes, and how to best serve Minnesotans.
We’ve offered grace periods for certain tax types where we will not assess penalty and interest and — for those that are unable to pay — options for abatement of penalty and interest if they were negatively impacted by COVID-19.
Individuals now have until July 15, 2020, to file their annual Minnesota Individual Income Tax return for tax year 2019 and pay any tax due.
We continue to provide information and answers to taxpayers, accountants and tax attorneys as the situation continues to unfold and Minnesota moves toward a new normal.
For the latest information, go to
www.revenue.state.mn.us/our-response-covid-19. We created this page to provide a central point for updates, links and other resources including Frequently Asked Questions pages to address specific issues.
I also encourage you to subscribe to our email updates. We offer a wide range of email lists for tax professionals and others to help you stay on top of tax laws, filing information and other topics. To get started, use the Get Email Updates box in the footer of our website.
Legislative session
Minnesota’s legislative session was also affected. In March and April, legislators focused mainly on our state’s response to COVID-19.
With two weeks left in the legislative session, Minnesota Management and Budget presented an updated budget projection on May 5 to help guide policymakers. Legislative work was expected to focus on further COVID-19 relief, a bonding bill, supplemental budget and other priorities.
This year’s session was unique in many ways, but one important thing has not changed: Revenue is here to provide testimony and information to help policymakers refine their proposals and to inform those affected by law changes.
During this unique and challenging time, we are working hard to balance the needs of state and local governments with the difficulty some of our customers are experiencing.
We understand how that affects your work as tax professionals and will continue to answer your questions and provide the best guidance we can, as soon as we can.
Thank you for your partnership — and stay well.
Cynthia Bauerly is commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
