Washington extends tax deadlines to try to help local businesses
Washington officials are extending some business tax deadlines due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the related shutdown of local businesses.
In a Friday press release from finance director and Councilman Joe Manning, the city will move the mercantile tax deadline from Jan. 31 to March 31 to try to help struggling local businesses. They’ll also move the business privilege tax deadline from April to July.
“We’re deferring the deadlines for payment of mercantile and business privilege taxes in the hope that our city businesses can use that extra time to gain back some of the potential loss in revenue because of these restrictions” Manning said in the release. “The state isn’t going to act, and the federal government certainly isn’t going to act, so we as the local taxing body need to do what we can to help businesses that are struggling right now.”
According to Manning, this could be the first in many attempts to help businesses as the pandemic continues.
“We’re all in this together can’t be just a slogan,” Manning said in the release. “These businesses are our neighbors and the backbone of our communities. We need to work together to help them survive.”