Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Minnesota House Bill HF912 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1.1 A bill for an act
2	2	1.2 relating to taxation; establishing a private letter ruling program; requiring reports;
3	3	1.3 proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 270C.
4	4	1.4BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
5	5	1.5 Section 1. [270C.075] PRIVATE LETTER RULINGS.
6	6	1.6 Subdivision 1.Program established.By January 1, 2026, the commissioner shall, by
7	7	1.7administrative rule adopted under chapter 14, establish and implement a program for issuing
8	8	1.8private letter rulings to taxpayers to provide guidance as to how the commissioner will apply
9	9	1.9Minnesota tax law to a specific transaction or proposed transaction, arrangement, or other
10	10	1.10fact situation of the applying taxpayer. The commissioner must include in each ruling an
11	11	1.11explanation of the reasoning for the determination. In establishing the terms of the program,
12	12	1.12the commissioner may provide that rulings will not be issued in specified subject areas, for
13	13	1.13categories of transactions, or under specified provisions of law, if the commissioner
14	14	1.14determines doing so is in the best interests of the state and sound tax administration. The
15	15	1.15program must include a process for the representative of a taxpayer to apply for a private
16	16	1.16letter ruling and to communicate with the commissioner regarding the requested ruling.
17	17	1.17 Subd. 2.Application procedure; fees.(a) The commissioner shall establish an
18	18	1.18application procedure and forms for a taxpayer or the taxpayer's appointed representative
19	19	1.19to request a private letter ruling. The commissioner may require the taxpayer to provide any
20	20	1.20supporting factual information and certifications that the commissioner determines necessary
21	21	1.21or appropriate to issue a private letter ruling. The requirements may vary based on the type
22	22	1.22of ruling requested.
23	23	1Section 1.
24	24	REVISOR EAP/AD 25-0105312/05/24
25	25	State of Minnesota
26	26	This Document can be made available
27	27	in alternative formats upon request
28	28	HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
29	29	H. F. No. 912
30	30	NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
31	31	Authored by Quam02/17/2025
32	32	The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Taxes 2.1 (b) The commissioner may, in the administrative rule, establish a fee schedule to recover
33	33	2.2the department's actual cost of preparing private letter rulings. The maximum fee per private
34	34	2.3letter ruling is $........ The commissioner may require the applicant to pay the required fee
35	35	2.4for a private letter ruling before the application is considered. If the administrative rule
36	36	2.5provides for payment of a fee as a condition for providing a private letter ruling, the rule
37	37	2.6must provide a fee structure that varies the amount of the fee by the complexity of the request
38	38	2.7or the number and type of issues or both.
39	39	2.8 (c) If the commissioner fails to issue a ruling to the taxpayer within 90 days after the
40	40	2.9taxpayer's filing of a completed application, the commissioner must refund the application
41	41	2.10fee to the taxpayer; however, the commissioner must issue a private letter ruling unless the
42	42	2.11taxpayer withdraws the request.
43	43	2.12 (d) Any fees collected under this section must be deposited in the Revenue Department
44	44	2.13service and recovery special revenue fund established under section 270C.15, and are
45	45	2.14appropriated to the commissioner to offset the cost of issuing private letter rulings and
46	46	2.15related administrative costs.
47	47	2.16 Subd. 3.Effect.(a) A private letter ruling is binding on the commissioner with respect
48	48	2.17to the taxpayer to whom the ruling is issued if:
49	49	2.18 (1) there was no misstatement or omission of material facts in the application or other
50	50	2.19information provided to the commissioner;
51	51	2.20 (2) the facts that subsequently developed were not materially different from the facts
52	52	2.21upon which the ruling was based;
53	53	2.22 (3) the applicable statute, administrative rule, federal law referenced by state law, or
54	54	2.23other relevant law has not changed; and
55	55	2.24 (4) the taxpayer acted in good faith in applying for and relying on the ruling.
56	56	2.25 (b) Private letter rulings have no precedential effect and may not be relied upon by a
57	57	2.26taxpayer other than as provided in paragraph (a).
58	58	2.27 Subd. 4.Public access.The commissioner shall make private letter rulings issued under
59	59	2.28this section available to the public on the department's website. The commissioner must
60	60	2.29organize the private letter rulings by tax type and must make them available in a searchable
61	61	2.30format. The published rulings must redact any information that would permit identification
62	62	2.31of the requesting taxpayer.
63	63	2Section 1.
64	64	REVISOR EAP/AD 25-0105312/05/24 3.1 Subd. 5.Legislative report.(a) By January 31 of each odd-numbered year, the
65	65	3.2commissioner shall report in writing to the legislature the following information for the
66	66	3.3immediately preceding two calendar years:
67	67	3.4 (1) the number of applications for private letter rulings;
68	68	3.5 (2) the number of private letter rulings issued, including the number issued within the
69	69	3.690-day time period under subdivision 2, paragraph (c);
70	70	3.7 (3) the amount of application fees refunded by tax type;
71	71	3.8 (4) the tax types for which rulings were requested;
72	72	3.9 (5) the types and characteristics of taxpayers applying for rulings; and
73	73	3.10 (6) any other information that the commissioner considers relevant to legislative oversight
74	74	3.11of the private letter ruling program.
75	75	3.12 (b) The report must be filed as provided in section 3.195, and copies must be provided
76	76	3.13to the chairs and ranking minority members of the committees of the house of representatives
77	77	3.14and the senate with jurisdiction over taxes and appropriations to the Department of Revenue.
78	78	3.15 EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment, except
79	79	3.16that the first legislative report under subdivision 5 is due January 31, 2028.
80	80	3Section 1.
81	81	REVISOR EAP/AD 25-0105312/05/24