Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan said the city will offer small businesses ways to defer their business and occupation tax filing and payments. (AP)
Businesses are eligible if they have annual taxable income of $5 million or less and if they currently pay the tax to Seattle on a quarterly basis, Durkan's office said. The plan would give businesses until late 2020 to pay the taxes, the mayor's office said.
The measure, part of a package of proposals Durkan offered amid the virus outbreak, will formally be offered in an executive order later this week but would go into effect immediately, she said.
As of Tuesday, there had been 190 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the new coronavirus, and 22 deaths in King County, the home county of Seattle, according to Washington data.
Calvin W. Goings, director of the Department of Finance and Administrative Services, said in a release that the deferral is meant to help small businesses during a tough economic time.
"The impact of this crisis creates a razor-thin margin for error for our small businesses, and Mayor Durkan has called on us to be bold in our response," Goings said. "By offering deferred business and occupation tax payments, we hope to provide our small businesses with a little more breathing room during this unsettling time."
Durkan said small businesses make up about 95% of businesses in Seattle and employ about 200,000 people.
"The next few months will be tough," Durkan said. "The city is taking some initial actions by deferring utility and B&O payments and working to directly provide businesses with loans and grants, and we know our actions must continue to support both our workers and our small businesses."
The move from Seattle officials came on the same day Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, rolled out new rules to combat the effects of COVID-19. Those include waiving financial penalties for employers that file late tax reports, pay taxes late or don't respond to information in a timely fashion because of COVID-19.
Measures to bring relief to businesses and others via federal, state and local tax codes have been amping up this week amid intensifying fears of COVID-19's potential effects on people, business and the overall economy.
U.S. House Ways and Means Democrats wrote to the Internal Revenue Service commissioner Tuesday asking him to consider extending the tax filing season deadline beyond April 15. The group also said it hoped the IRS would consider waiving some penalties for reasonable cause.
U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has said he's gauging whether to seek a stimulus measure like a payroll tax cut to counter the economic impact of the new coronavirus, though House Democrats have thrown cold water on the idea.
Other measures have also affected the tax world.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Tax Court rescheduled trials, hearings or appearances as necessary for those who have flulike symptoms or fever or are coughing or sneezing, according to a statement on its website. The IRS has also said it would stop nonessential travel for its employees for 30 days unless it is "mission-critical," Tony Reardon, national president of the National Treasury Employees Union, told Law360 on Monday.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has said it's canceling some public events because of concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak, an agency official said Monday.
States have also started to consider the economic effects of the virus on their budgets. Responding to a question about whether the spread of COVID-19 might affect Minnesota's economy, House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, said on Monday there was already some "pessimism" built into economic forecasts.
On Tuesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said he asked the state comptroller for his opinion and advice on the consequences of the coronavirus on the state budget amid a yawning $6 billion budget gap.
--Additional reporting by Daniel Tay, Alan K. Ota, Alex M. Parker and Joshua Rosenberg. Editing by Tim Ruel.
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