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Maryland Return Preparers Can Stay Open During Pandemic, State Says

Posted on Mar. 27, 2020

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) has announced that tax return preparation services can remain open during the state’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, even though many businesses have been ordered to close.

In a March 25 release, Franchot clarified that tax return preparation services fall under "financial services" as outlined in the list of exempt businesses under Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s March 23 emergency order, and “therefore should remain open as a critical infrastructure sector.”

Franchot has pushed back payment and filing deadlines for individual and corporate income tax returns from April 15 to July 15, in line with the federal extension. He has also extended deadlines for business-related tax payments to June 1.

“Even with delayed due dates, continued assistance from these services to both individual and business taxpayers will help ensure that the tax filing and payment processes remain timely and accurate,” Franchot said. “If they had to shut down now, once the pandemic is under control and our economy begins to rebuild, the state would experience a delay in revenues and taxpayers would experience a similar lag in the receipt of their refunds — both of which would be highly undesirable outcomes.”

In the absence of tax return preparers who are regulated by the state, Franchot said taxpayers would “become more susceptible to fraudulent preparers and end up bearing financial and legal responsibility for the illegal actions of tax cheats.”

“Our fraud detection teams will be more vigilant than ever, during this time of unprecedented economic volatility, in protecting Maryland taxpayers from sleazy preparers who seek to profit from the vulnerability of others,” Franchot added.

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