Possible Tax Filing and Payment Extension. At a House subcommittee meeting yesterday, March 11, 2020, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that the Treasury Department is considering extending the deadline for certain taxpayers and small businesses to pay taxes until December 31, 2020.  No interest or penalties would be imposed on taxpayers filing by the extended deadline.  Mnuchin said that the extension would amount to more than $200 billion of liquidity.

Sections 7508A of the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury regulations section 301.7508A-1 grant the Treasury Department and the IRS the authority to grant filing and payment extensions for income taxes and other taxes administered by the IRS for up to one year to any taxpayer determined to be affected by a “federally declared disaster”.  A federally declared disaster is any disaster determined by the President to warrant assistance by the federal government under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.  This Act gives the President broad discretion to declare an emergency for which federal assistance is necessary.

Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee and several Democratic Senators had requested the extension.

Resistance to The Suggestion for a Payroll Tax Holiday.  Treasury Secretary Mnuchin also renewed calls on Congress for a payroll tax holiday.  Both Democratic and Republican members of Congress have rebuffed these calls.

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Photo of David S. Miller David S. Miller

David Miller is a partner in the Tax Department. David advises clients on a broad range of domestic and international corporate tax issues. His practice covers the taxation of financial instruments and derivatives, cross-border lending transactions and other financings, international and domestic mergers…

David Miller is a partner in the Tax Department. David advises clients on a broad range of domestic and international corporate tax issues. His practice covers the taxation of financial instruments and derivatives, cross-border lending transactions and other financings, international and domestic mergers and acquisitions, multinational corporate groups and partnerships, private equity and hedge funds, bankruptcy and workouts, high-net-worth individuals and families, and public charities and private foundations. He advises companies in virtually all major industries, including banking, finance, private equity, health care, life sciences, real estate, technology, consumer products, entertainment and energy.

David is strongly committed to pro bono service, and has represented more than 200 charities. In 2011, he was named as one of eight “Lawyers Who Lead by Example” by the New York Law Journal for his pro bono service. David has also been recognized for his pro bono work by The Legal Aid Society, Legal Services for New York City and New York Lawyers For The Public Interest.