States and local jurisdictions continue to grapple with novel tax issues in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. On Friday, March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (âCARES Actâ), a $2 trillion federal stimulus package to provide fiscal relief in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The CARES Act includes numerous tax relief provisions. States will need to consider whether, and how, they will conform to the federal provisions.
States continue to provide relief in response to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This week, numerous states responded to the federal income tax filing extension, and we expect additional states to respond in the coming days. Some states are also offering relief for non-income business taxes, and much of the relief is limited to small- to mid-size businesses. Furthermore, COVID-19 is causing complications in property tax assessments, payments, and appeals.
The World Health Organization has officially declared the coronavirus outbreak to be a pandemic. In addition to the cost on human life, the rapid spread of COVID-19 has left a trail of economic damage affecting business revenues. COVID-19 has caused complete or partial shutdown of factories, supply chain disruptions, and labor shortages, and has impacted demand in certain industries. This impact will also be felt by U.S. state, and local governments.
In response to the federal $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction, New Jersey recently enacted an elective pass-through entity tax. By taxing pass-through entities, the law shifts the tax burden from individuals subject to the federal deduction limitation to entities that are not subject to the limitation, which deduction then flows through to the pass-through entitiesâ owners without limitation. While uncertainty remains about the federal deductibility of such state pass-through entity taxes by individual owners, New Jersey joins a growing number of states to pass similar legislation in the wake of the SALT deduction cap, including Connecticut, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.