CoViD19 Trucking help as things unfold.

[JimT]

If this these large scale shutdowns in places like NY, CT, MA, PA, IL and CA continue for long periods of time and/or spread to many more states, then taxes will be the last thing most people worry about. I know many banks and credit cards have said they will work with people affected by Covid-19, but with long term effects even temporary relief might not be enough. Imagine businesses being ordered to shut down yet still needing to come up with large amounts of money to pay wages and bills. Here's nice example. Short term it might be doable, but if this stretches in to weeks/months then there will be some major economic repercussions. Trucking should be mostly OK. Some companies will struggle, but I think for the most part trucking will come out very strong as things clear up. Whenever that is.

My personal opinion is that we are making the situation worse by attempting to mass quarantine. The virus will still spread to a large portion of the population, only with the quarantine effort it will drag out longer. I realize that is the intent, so that medical providers are not swamped with more patients than they can handle, thereby allowing better care for every person. But at the same token the longer it takes to spread through the population, the longer these extreme measures will be in effect, in turn creating the potential for more extreme economic and social consequences.

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As for the States that don't adjust their tax deadlines the solution is simple, file an extension. This can usually be done online either directly by a person or by a simple efile process done by a preparer, possibly from the comfort of their quarantined home. Yes, I know that an extension to file is not an extension to pay. However it's still an option, especially for those people that may not have much choice due to the ever changing local restrictions.