Politics

IRS likely to delay April 15 tax filing deadline as part of Trump coronavirus response, WSJ says

Key Points
  • The Trump administration is likely to delay the deadline for filing income tax returns as part of its fiscal stimulus plan to combat the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, The Wall Street Journal reported.
  • The news comes as President Donald Trump and his economic team work to assemble a response to the deadly virus' spread and its impact on markets and the economy.
  • During a meeting with Senate Republicans on Tuesday, Trump pitched slashing payroll taxes to 0% for the rest of the year.
What shape will stimulus take?
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What shape will stimulus take?

The Trump administration is likely to push back the deadline for filing income tax returns as part of its fiscal stimulus plan to combat the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, The Wall Street Journal reported late Tuesday.

The report cited sources familiar with the matter, including an administration official. There had yet to be a final decision on the move, nor would the logistics of how the plan would work finalized, the newspaper added. Treasury officials were undecided about how long the deadline would be extended beyond April 15, or who would be eligible, according to the report.

The news comes as President Donald Trump and his economic team work to assemble a response to the deadly virus' spread and its impact on markets and the economy.

CNBC's Eamon Javers had reported earlier Tuesday that officials within the White House said any such plan was far from ready. During a meeting with Senate Republicans on Tuesday, Trump pitched slashing payroll taxes to 0% for the rest of the year. Those taxes are used to fund Social Security and Medicare.

Neither the White House nor the Treasury Department, which includes the Internal Revenue Service, immediately responded to CNBC's request for comment.

U.S. stock markets bounced back from a broad selloff Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging more than 1,100 points Tuesday. Futures, however, indicated more losses and another volatile session Wednesday. 

More than 113,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus, known as COVID-19, while at least 4,015 have died. In the United States, there have been more than 1,000 cases diagnosed to go along with at least 28 deaths.

Read the full report here.

CNBC's Tucker Higgins contributed to this report.