There has been no breakthrough on an interim coronavirus measure to at least provide $250 billion more for the now-exhausted CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and talks are set to continue into the weekend with hopes of moving something through Congress early next week. A Senate pro forma session came and went April 16 with no action, and the next pro forma is set for Monday, April 20, at 2 p.m.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) continued to blame Democrats for blocking a clean PPP funding bill, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) questioned why Republicans are opposed to additionally providing more money for hospitals and states. During a press call, she cited National Governors Association Chair Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s comments that without more federal money, states face the prospect of reductions to essential services. Speaker Pelosi said of ongoing negotiations, which seem to be primarily between Democrats and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, “we’re hopeful that they will come back with something that strikes a balance in what we know we need to do.” How Leader McConnell and other Republicans will react to a potential deal that includes Democratic priorities is unclear.

Coverage of the standoff was overshadowed by headlines in major papers of 22 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits over four weeks and states’ struggles to deliver benefits.

The nation’s mounting needs would seem to call for additional congressional action beyond the PPP funding-plus package being deliberated. However, the outlook for a bill #4/CARES 2 has been clouded by negotiations on the interim measure; partisan tensions over that package, as well as over the rate and role of testing; and the expected return of Congress being further pushed back, to at least May 4.

On the latter point, House Rules Committee Chairman James McGovern (D-MA) recommended rules changes that would temporarily implement remote voting during the coronavirus pandemic, allowing members unable to travel to Washington to provide instructions for each vote to a member authorized to cast votes on their behalf. 

The White House released a three-phase plan for reopening the economy, calling for states to reopen one step at a time based on benchmarks on new cases, testing, and hospital resources. “You’re going to call your own shots,” the President reportedly told governors on a conference call.

President Trump tapped a large bipartisan and bicameral group to serve on the Opening Up America Again Congressional Group.

IRS has updated FAQs on filing by fax Form 1139 (refunds for corporations) and Form 1045 (refunds for individuals, estates, and trusts) to claim refunds under the net operating loss (NOL) and alternative minimum tax (AMT) credit acceleration provisions of the CARES Act.

The Congressional Budget Office and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) released a preliminary estimate of the budgetary effects of the CARES Act.

EY Alerts and other resources are here.

The global EY Tax COVID-19 Response Tracker updated through April 16 – as well as additional trackers on Tax Controversy, Labor and Employment Law, and Immigration Policy – is here.

EY Webcast, “Tax in the time of COVID-19,” is today, April 17, at noon. Register. 

———————————————