With the second congressional bill to address the crisis signed into law, attention turns squarely March 19 to efforts in the Senate — in conjunction with the House and the Administration — to develop a much larger third package that the White House envisions to be $1 trillion split between checks mailed to the public and relief to specific industries and small businesses. The Senate could outline something soon and vote this weekend.

Bill #2

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201), which provides for free testing, paid sick and family leave to affected individuals, and tax credits for affected employers, was signed by the President after the Senate rejected a few amendments and approved the bill March 18 by a 90-8 vote. See Tax Alert 2020-0586.

Bill #3, White House and Senate

A March 18 Treasury outline of a "Stage III" response package proposes:

• two rounds of Economic Impact Payments to be administered by the IRS and Bureau of the Fiscal Service — $ 250 billion to be issued beginning April 6 and another $250 billion beginning May 18
• $50 billion toward Airline Industry Secured Lending Facility plus an additional $150 billion in loan guarantees to assist other critical sectors of the US economy
• $300 billion for a small business interruption loan program

Those topics align with Task Forces established by the Senate — direct financial assistance to individuals and businesses, airline loans/grants, small business liquidity — and negotiations are underway, with CNN reporting that a Senate proposal could be outlined as soon as March 19. There appears to be broad support among GOP senators for the first round of payments. The Washington Post reported the checks could be for more than the proposed $1,000 amount, and that Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are working on a potential compromise proposal to apply funding for the second payment to unemployment benefits instead.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) expressed skepticism over the "onetime cash payment of $1,000" plan, saying on the Senate floor March 18, "this is not a time for small thinking, and this is not a time for small measures. This is a time to be bold, to be aggressive. A single $1,000 check would help people pay their landlords in March, but what happens after that?" He said expanded unemployment insurance covers you for a much longer time and would provide a much bigger safety net.

Second-ranking Senate Republican John Thune (R-SD) on Fox News this morning noted the difference in opinion regarding a payment mechanism and said, "I would hope in the end we can agree around an approach that does get assistance out there as quickly as possible to the people who need it. And the check approach that the president has put forward and that many of us up here think makes sense, I think is probably the best way to do that. But we'll see. We've got to negotiate, as I said, with the Democrats."

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) said during a March 18 news conference with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) that they are working on a proposal to transfer money to help small businesses meet payroll and operating expenses for six weeks, with a goal of keeping employees connected to their employers. Senator Collins said they hoped to have language on March 19 and for the Senate to pass the large third bill sometime this weekend.

On the third topic of assisting affected industries, President Trump said March 18 regarding which industries specifically, "We have been talking about it, and we're coming up with numbers. Haven't gotten there yet, but, certainly, hotel industry, the cruise ship industry, the airlines. Those are all prime candidates, absolutely.

Bill #3, House

The House is set to remain out of session until there is a third package to vote on, and press reports observed that logistics could put members in the position of accepting whatever bill #3 the Senate develops. Speaker Pelosi has instructed her leaders and chairmen to draft their own proposal as a counter-offer to what the Senate develops, and it "is expected to include additional unemployment insurance payments, expanded Medicaid coverage, an airline rescue package, relief for homeowners and renters, support for small businesses, and additional food security measures," Politico reported.

IRS payment deferral

In Notice 2020-17, released March 18, the IRS has provided tax-payment relief for those affected by the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, allowing any taxpayer who owes federal income tax due April 15, 2020, to remit that tax payment by July 15, 2020, without incurring penalties or interest. The payment extension is limited to tax payments of $1 million for individuals, regardless of filing status, and $10 million for consolidated groups and each C corporations that is not part of a consolidated group. (Notice 2020-17)

EY Webcast: On March 20 (12:00-1:00 p.m. EDT), Tax in the time of COVID-19

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