Editorial Staff

Public Statement: Extend Massachusetts’ Income Tax Filing Deadline

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

Being Consistent with the Extended Federal Deadline Is in the Public Interest

The consequences for the state budget may be significant, but the impact of not providing tax relief consistent with federal actions may be more severe. The Internal Revenue Service extended the income tax return filing deadline from April 15 to July 15.

Taxpayers already hit with declining paychecks and retirement accounts should not bear the additional interest and penalties stemming from an inability to meet the April 15 deadline, especially when their inability to make those filings in a timely way is largely due to compliance with Coronavirus containment strategies promoted by health officials and governments at all levels. Additionally, given the current economic crisis, money that would be going to the state could instead be used for life’s necessities and work to keep the local economy afloat during the extension period until payments are due in July.

Many rely on tax professionals, lawyers, and others to prepare or provide the information necessary to file their tax returns. Often, a taxpayer will compile a “shoebox” of receipts and cancelled checks, which s/he leaves with a local accountant to sort through and create the tax return. That physical process could actually be dangerous in present circumstances.

Massachusetts’ 2019 Form 1, the state’s income tax return form, includes five items that are drawn from the U.S. 2019 1040. Thus, if Massachusetts does not piggyback on the federal postponement, then taxpayers will effectively have to complete the federal return by April 15, which would be a huge disappointment at this point, although any additional federal taxes due could be postponed until July 15. Additionally, having different deadlines for federal and state taxes create significant inefficiencies for individuals and tax practitioners alike who for decades have filed both returns at the same time.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department recognized this burden and extended the deadline. They took it a step further, saying first quarter estimated payments normally due on April 15, would be due on July 15th. Additionally, the agency urged those who would be seeking tax refunds to file as early as possible so they can receive the benefit of having more cash on hand as their paychecks erode.

We do not believe that Massachusetts should simply ask individuals to exercise the option of filing for extensions. To file an extension, one must have the means to estimate his or her liability and pay at least 80 percent of it by April 15, and many taxpayers rely on their accountants or other tax professionals to file their extensions, raising many of the same issues noted above.

By not extending the filing deadline, Massachusetts is an anomaly. According to the Tax Foundation, 34 of the 41 states that tax income have extended their deadlines. The Commonwealth should be among them.

Below is a state-by-state guide as of March 25, 2020 courtesy of the Tax Foundation:

Get Our COVID-19 News, Tips & Resources!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Related Posts:

During COVID-19 Outbreak, Compounding Challenges for Special Education Students

0 Comments
/
In Massachusetts, there’s a staunch and persistent negative…

Stargazing: Five Astronomy Resources for Parents, Teachers, and Kids During COVID-19

0 Comments
/
Here are some resources for parents, teachers, and students of all ages. Our hope is to cultivate the curiosity within us, in order to better understand the heavens and stars above us.

UVA Law Professor Kimberly Robinson On Legal Debate About Education As Federal Right

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by Kimberly Robinson, Professor at the University of Virginia School of Law and the Curry School of Education, about her new book, "A Federal Right to Education: Fundamental Questions for Our Democracy," and the need for states to establish a “floor of opportunity” to ensure educational equity.

The past seven weeks of Massachusetts unemployment claims total 25.8 percent of the civilian workforce.

0 Comments
/
The U.S. Department of Labor released its weekly report on jobless claims Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m., reporting that Massachusetts received 55,448 initial unemployment insurance (UI) claims during the week ended May 2. This brings the total of regular UI claims filed in Massachusetts since March 14, the beginning of the unemployment surge, to 781,110. 

National Study Finds Most States Lack Healthcare Price Transparency Laws

At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has caused massive shifts in state policies on telehealth and scope of practice in healthcare, a new Pioneer Institute study underscores that most of the 50 states continue to suffer from weak laws regarding price transparency.  The study identified states that have laws that require carriers, providers or both to provide personalized cost information to consumers before obtaining healthcare services.  Fully 33 states placed in the lowest of the three broad analytic tiers on the strength of their state healthcare transparency laws. 

Explosion in ESL enrollment creates new opportunities, challenges

0 Comments
/
  The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that, between 2010…

COVID-19 will likely lead to a recession. Can Massachusetts municipal budgets handle one?

0 Comments
/
Using municipalities' experiences during the Great Recession, a new policy brief examines the likely impact of COVID-19 on local property taxes, as well as political implications for state aid. We list the municipal revenues by category among the least tax-reliant communities in Massachusetts, show the trajectory of tax revenue growth rate in Massachusetts state and local governments, and rank stabilization fund assets per capita among Massachusetts Gateway Cities.

Conquering COVID-19: When and From Where Will Vaccines and Therapies Emerge?

0 Comments
/
This week on Hubwonk, Host Joe Selvaggi is joined by Pioneer’s Bill Smith, Visiting Fellow in Life Sciences, and Dr. Peter Kolchinsky, Harvard-trained virologist, biotech investor and author of the new book, The Great American Drug Deal, to learn how the SARS-CoV2 works, what a vaccine may look like, and how we might produce it to scale.

COVID-19 Roundup from Pioneer: Human testing of a vaccine; NYT best-selling author John Barry on COVID-19 & warmer weather; Just who’s getting stimulus $?; Latest unemployment #s; What will reopening look like?; Tipping point for Telehealth & more!

0 Comments
/
Pioneer staff share their top picks for COVID-19 stories highlighting useful resources, best practices, and questions we should be asking our public and private sector leaders.

New York Times #1 best-selling author John M. Barry on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic & lessons for COVID-19

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by John M. Barry, author of the #1 New York Times best seller, The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History.