Tax Day has a new date. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin confirmed the news this morning with a tweet, saying “At @realDonaldTrump’s direction, we are moving Tax Day from April 15 to July 15. All taxpayers and businesses will have this additional time to file and make payments without interest or penalties.”
The 90-day extension, which was also discussed during Friday’s White House briefing, comes in light of the coronavirus pandemic, which has halted regular life for the vast majority of Americans. News of the extended deadline began floating around earlier this week when the Trump administration announced that Americans would be able to delay paying federal tax bills in accordance with the emergency relief plan initiated in Congress. Even so, the administration still encouraged individuals and businesses to file by April 15.
That deadline has now been extended to the summer.
The economic impact has been a very obvious concern for the administration, which has floated the idea of giving $1,200 to individuals as part of a $1 trillion-plus economic rescue package proposed by Senate Republicans. Economists suggest that any stock market gains made during Trump’s time in office are very close to being erased. The impeached President has been aggressively looking for ways to stem the damage.
Outside of the GOP’s proposal, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren proposed another way of coming to the aid of suffering Americans. It includes canceling student loan payments, which served as a benchmark for her presidential campaign.
CNN reports that the plan has support from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Senator Patty Murray of Washington and Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, all fellow Democrats. The proposal would put the responsibility on the federal government to make the monthly payments of borrowers with federal student loans.
The new tax deadline announced by the administration only applies to federal income tax payments. Individual states will set their own deadlines. Taxpayers are still able to file for a typical six-month extension.
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