On May 30, 2019, Governor Tim Walz signed a tax bill that retroactively couples Minnesota tax law to federal law following the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) enacted at the end of 2017. Passed by the Minnesota legislature during a short special session, this law will impact both individuals and businesses. Remember, your federal income tax returns are not affected by these changes, so any adjustments will only impact your Minnesota returns.

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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released a final rule which should make it easier for smaller businesses to provide retirement plans to their employees. According to the DOL, the rule will enable more small and midsize unrelated businesses to join forces in multiple employer plans (MEPs) that provide their employees a defined contribution plan such as a 401(k) plan or a SIMPLE IRA plan. Certain self-employed individuals also can participate in MEPs.

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Second Quarter 2019 Market Perspective

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The U.S. Senate has passed, and President Trump is expected to sign into law, a broad package of reforms aimed at the IRS. Among other things, the Taxpayer First Act contains several new protections for taxpayers, along with provisions intended to improve the IRS’s customer service.

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The IRS has updated the inflation-adjusted "luxury automobile" limits on certain deductions taxpayers can take for passenger automobiles—including light trucks and vans—used in their businesses. Revenue Procedure 2019-26 includes different limits for purchased automobiles that are and aren’t eligible for bonus first-year depreciation, as well as for leased automobiles.

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When you meet with your financial advisor, most of your conversation centers around accumulating wealth and preparing for retirement. During your conversation, you may hear these two terms: Accumulation Phase and Distribution Phase. While these concepts are relatively easy, you may not always make the connection between the two phases until your financial consultant lays it all out for you. The bottom line is this: How much wealth you build up during your working years (accumulation), will depend on how well you live during your retirement years (distribution).

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The IRS recently announced the inflation-adjusted maximum value of an employer-provided vehicle under the vehicle cents-per-mile rule and the fleet-average value rule. Employers can use the rules to value an employee’s personal use of such a vehicle for income and employment tax purposes.

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File Download: First Quarter 2019 Market Perspective

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Market volatility is a statistical measure of the tendency of a market or security to rise or fall sharply within a short period of time. It is typically measured by the standard deviation of the return of an investment. Standard deviation is a statistical concept that denotes the amount of variation or deviation that might be expected.

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Congress has yet to tackle several outstanding uncertainties frustrating both businesses and individual taxpayers. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), for example, contains several “glitches” requiring legislative fixes. Congress also has neglected to pass the traditional “extenders” legislation that retroactively extend certain tax relief provisions that expired at the end of an earlier year, in this case 2017.

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