AICPA Thanks Senators, Representatives for Pushing Tax Deadline Change

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is thanking Senator John Thune (R-SD) for his leadership on a bipartisan congressional effort to extend the tax filing deadline to July 15th. The AICPA also thanked the 42 other Senators who either cosponsored S. 3535, Senator Thune’s Tax Relief Filing Act for America, or signed a letter- to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, led by Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT). Between the two efforts, 43 U.S. Senators voiced their strong support for a tax filing deadline extension.

“AICPA and its members are grateful for Senator Thune’s leadership and the overwhelmingly bipartisan effort in Congress to easing the challenges facing taxpayers and the CPAs who advise them,” said Edward Karl, CPA, AICPA vice president of tax policy and advocacy. “We know that having a chorus of voices from Congress urging the Treasury Department to formally extend the deadline until July 15 was instrumental to the final decision made by the Administration.”

“Tax filing deadlines are a huge issue for every American – taxpayers, tax preparers, and businesses big and small. With all the uncertainty in the country today, we are grateful to South Dakota’s U.S. Senator John Thune for understanding how this issue affects everyone, and for his leadership in getting legislation introduced quickly to solve that problem,” stated Tommy Pollema, CPA, Executive Director of the South Dakota CPA Society.

Karl added, “We are pleased by the Treasury’s and IRS’s decision to broaden relief, with tax filing added to the previously announced payment extensions and penalty and interest relief. We stand ready to assist Treasury and the IRS if needed and will continue to inform the accounting profession about ways it can help clients and manage their business in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.”

The AICPA and state CPA societies actively called for tax payment and filing relief, as well as providing timely tax filing resources for accounting professionals and policymakers:

Earlier today, AICPA’s Barry Melancon thanked Treasury for listening to taxpayers and the accounting profession. He added that “Our profession has a tremendous opportunity to create economic stimulus when we help taxpayers submit a refund return.”
On March 19, AICPA and state CPA societies expressed its support for S. 3535, Sen. John Thune’s Tax Relief for America Act (press release).
AICPA’s President and CEO strongly called for tax filing relief on March 18, stating that Treasury’s actions “do not reflect the real-world difficulties tax practitioners and their clients are experiencing.” Also, in a letter to AICPA members, Melancon called upon them to contact Treasury and demand immediate tax filing relief (press release).
On March 13, AICPA expressed dismay that the Treasury Department and IRS had yet to provide taxpayers and tax preparers with filing and payment relief ahead of the March 16th deadline (press release).
On March 11, AICPA called for the Treasury Department and the IRS to provide relief to all taxpayers in light of the uncertainty and challenges caused by the spread of the coronavirus (press release).
U.S. states are providing tax filing relief for individuals and businesses. The AICPA has compiled the latest developments on state tax filings related to coronavirus (more here)
CPAs’ clients may need assistance with their tax returns and business affairs during this filing season’s uncertainty. Access AICPA guidance and tools.
Casualty loss and disaster relief resources are also available (more here).

The AICPA has developed several resources to keep the profession up-to-date on the coronavirus, including information on business continuation, economic impact and workforce issues. Visit our Coronavirus Resource Center to learn more.