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March 24, 2020—The National Conference of CPA Practitioners (NCCPAP) is quite pleased with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s response to our letter calling for an extension to the tax deadline. On Friday, March 20, the U.S. Department of the Treasury responded to further requests, from NCCPAP and others, by revising their initial decision and extending the deadline for both filing and payment of taxes to July 15, 2020.

“While we urged an October deadline, granting the extension to July is a very reasonable decision by the U.S. Department of the Treasury,” states Neil H. Fishman, CPA, CFE, FCPA, CAMS and President of NCCPAP, “It is now time for the various states which have not yet granted the same extension to do so.” Stephen Mankowski, CPA and Sanford Zinman, CPA, co-Chairs of the NCCPAP Tax Policy Committee, agree. “The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by statute, is required to conform with any change the Federal Government makes with regard to personal income tax returns,” comments Stephen Mankowski. “The remainder of the states, like the state of Connecticut has already done, should fall in line with the IRS and grant the extension to July for everyone,” added Sanford Zinman.

Yet, there are still the issues of payroll, sales, and other taxes. “As far as we know, there has been no discussion with regard to the extension of payroll or any other taxes that have to be paid, or related forms that need to be submitted. With businesses being shut down, lower revenues being generated, and little work being done, we now need guidance on both the Federal and State levels with regard to these liabilities,” added Neil Fishman. “The CPA profession, along with all of those who prepare tax returns, want the system to function well and therefore, we need clarification on these matters now.”