Companies serving the tax and accounting industry are posting a wide range of resources in response to the coronavirus. The most time-sensitive are probably those sites that track due dates for state tax deadlines.H&R Block has posted pages to enable those interested to track the state responses for individual income, business and estate and trust taxes. The company has also shifted operations to turn its stores primarily into drop-off centers for documents. Once prepared, returns can be digitally reviewed, approved and e-file.
In addition, a post from CEO Jeff Jones noted, “For the first time in our history we have put in place absence benefits for all seasonal associates like tax professionals, and other hourly workers. There are a variety of ways people could be impacted by coronavirus and we want to help ease the financial burden during these incredibly challenging times.
There are a number of analyses available of the government response to the virus and impact. Thomson Reuters has available an on-demand webinar “Legal Considerations in Responding to Co-Vid 19”, a panel of Practical Law Attorney Editors discuss some of the most pressing legal, strategic, and practical considerations for companies in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Thomson also is providing access to analysis of the congressional response through information from Skopos Labs, A.I. researchers, data scientists, software engineers, financial professionals, attorneys and policy experts that have developed an automated platform to predict policy-making outcomes and impacts on of companies and financial markets.
An analysis of the impact of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act has been posted by Paychex. Elements discussed include Emergency Family Medical Leave (FML) Expansion Act., Payroll Credit for Required Paid Family Leave, Emergency Paid Sick Leave (PSL) Act, Payroll Credit for Required Paid Sick Leave (PSL) and emergency unemployment.
Intuit has published a small business help section on its QuickBooks website. Its provides tips, tools, and resources to help communicate with customers and support. It offersresources on financial planning and preparedness, and best practices for working remotely and maintaining employee morale. There is a comprehensive QuickBooks guide for protecting your business and managing workers, as well as a link to the Small Business Association’s guide for businesses and employers to plan and respond to the coronavirus.
Zoho has launched its Small Business Emergency Subscription Assistance Program, waiving the cost of every application its customers are using for up to three months. This month, the cloud software company also launched Remotely a virtual productivity platform of 11 collaboration applications, provided free, so that companies could effectively make the transition to remote work
