Wall Street Journal: Tax filing deadline likely to be extended to curb financial impact of coronavirus

(CNN) — The Treasury Department is considering extending the April 15 tax filing deadline to curb the financial impact of coronavirus on American households and businesses, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A decision on the extension or details on how it would work have not been finalized, the paper reported Tuesday night, citing a Trump administration official and another person familiar with the matter.

President Donald Trump is urging lawmakers to consider financial assistance to businesses and workers as the virus’ spread has caused economic concern and shocked the global markets. The President, along with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council, met with Senate Republicans Tuesday to push economic stimulus proposals, including a payroll tax cut, as part of an economic stimulus package.

After the hour-long meeting in the Capitol, where the conversation included proposals of payroll tax holidays for workers, targeted relief for hard-hit industries — like airlines, cruise ships, restaurants and retail — tax cuts to help small businesses better afford sick leave for their workers and other proposals, some GOP senators remained skeptical about quickly passing an expensive stimulus package.

Last week, the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by half a percentage point in an effort to calm economic concerns over the outbreak.

There are at least 1,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US.