(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) wrote today to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles Rettig urging the IRS to extend the impending April 15th federal tax filing deadline in response to the devastation wrought by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for millions of taxpayers, businesses, and preparers.

Rep. Raskin wrote: “Although I welcome your March 18th decision to automatically extend federal tax payment deadlines to July 15th, this action does not help taxpayers who need additional time to file their federal taxes. Many Americans depend on volunteer tax assistance at local clinics, libraries, and community centers, many of which are now closed indefinitely or face crippling staffing shortages. Additionally, tens of millions of Americans rely on tax practitioners for help with preparing returns. In order to ensure that taxpayers and preparers have enough time to gather documents and file their taxes, we urge you to provide an automatic extension to the filing deadline.”

On March 13th, President Donald J. Trump declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency under the Stafford Act, which gives the Treasury Department the authority to automatically extend filing and payment deadlines for up to one year.

Rep Raskin continued: “This automatic filing extension will provide critical relief for America’s taxpayers, and would also help reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure to IRS employees who must report to work in-person to process tax returns as they are filed.”

A signed copy of the letter is available here.

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