The staffing shortage will prolong delays — refunds for paper tax filers, responses to amended tax returns, returns frozen after they were flagged for identity theft. ADThe IRS has extended the April 15 filing deadline to July 15 for the first time since the date was fixed in 1955. Electronic tax returns are being processed quickly, but millions of refunds for paper returns will be delayed by months. He described “a lot of confusion and contradictory guidance” that has unnerved much of the workforce, including at the IRS. An estimated 101 federal employees have died of covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, and nearly 14,300 have tested positive for the virus, according to the watchdog group Accountable.US.

Source: Washington Post May 20, 2020 10:00 UTC