Trump announces delay of tax deadline for virus victims

 President Donald Trump anunced Wednesday night that he will instruct Treasury Department to allow individuals and businesses negatively affected by coronavirus to defer ir tax payments beyond April 15 filing deline.

In an dress from Oval Office, Trump said he would use his emergency authority to allow individual taxpayers businesses to defer paying ir taxes by next month’s deline if y have suffered verse effects from spreing virus.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Congress earlier Wednesday that payment delay would have effect of putting more than $200 billion back into ecomy that would orwise go to paying taxes next month. He did t indicate what new deline would be.

Mnuchin told reporters that delay would cover “virtually all Americans or than super-rich.”

He said delay would t apply to large corporations or very wealthy taxpayers but he did t offer any specific income or asset thresholds that would be needed to qualify for delay.

Mnuchin told a House Appropriations subcommittee that ministration could grant tax delay without having to go to Congress for approval.

Mnuchin said delay would allow individuals to t pay ir taxes by April 15 deline. IRS would also waive interest payments or or penalties for missing deline.

Under current IRS rules, taxpayers can get an automatic extension on filing ir tax returns but y are required to pay tax on estimated amount y will owe when y do file.

Members of Congress have urged ministration to take this step amid coronavirus crisis.

“Given growing nationwide concerns regarding potential spre and resulting ecomic and public health impact of such an outbreak, we urge you to act quickly and remove one source of stress that individuals face during crisis,” Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig.

“ American people should t have to worry about filing IRS forms in middle of a public health emergency,” two senators wrote.

In dition to using emergency authority to allow taxpayers who have been affected by virus to defer ir taxes, president said, effective immediately, he would have Small Business ministration start providing low-interest loans for businesses in states and U.S. territories that have been affected by virus.

He said se loans would help small businesses overcome ecomic disruptions that have been caused by virus. In dition, he said he would request that Congress boost this loan pool by providing an ditional $50 billion in funding for SBA.

Trump said he would also take emergency action to provide financial relief to allow working Americans who have been affected by virus to stay at home if y are ill, quarantined or taking care of ors dealing with coronavirus.

He said he would ask Congress to provide ditional funding for this worker relief.