MEDIA ADVISORY: Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar Issues Statement on Sales Tax Deadlines and Coronavirus Pandemic

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March 17, 2020 

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar Issues Statement on Sales Tax Deadlines and Coronavirus Pandemic

(AUSTIN) — As the March 20 monthly sales tax due date approaches, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar reminds businesses to use the agency’s online tools for tax filing and payment.

“We are committed to the health and safety of taxpayers, members of the community, agency employees and businesses throughout the state,” Hegar said. “For that reason, we’re urging businesses to make use of the agency’s online tools to meet the March 20 deadline and remit taxes collected from Texans in February and held ‘in trust’ until now.”

A suite of online tools to facilitate filing and on-time payment of taxes can be found on the agency’s website, and a quick reference site has been set up in response to the COVID–19 emergency. For taxpayers who must visit Comptroller field offices, protocols have been put in place to ensure proper social distancing and protect the safety of both taxpayers and Comptroller employees.

For monthly filers, taxes collected in February must be remitted to this agency by March 20. The agency will in turn remit local sales taxes back to local communities who rely on that revenue to provide day-to-day and emergency services to local residents.

“I know this will be difficult for many businesses, especially small businesses, that are facing a severe downturn in customer activity,” Hegar said. “These dollars, however, represent money collected from individual Texans, and Texans expect those dollars to be available to provide emergency health care and support other emergency operations during this difficult time.

“My office is charged with allocating local dollars back to communities fighting on the frontlines of this outbreak. They rely heavily on these dollars to operate hospitals, police, fire and other emergency services. I’m extremely sympathetic to our small businesses struggling through this pandemic, but I ask our partners in the business community to make a good-faith effort to pay taxes held in trust from before the outbreak began impacting their operations.

“This is a complex and rapidly evolving situation. Many of our fellow Texans are facing devastating economic conditions as bars, restaurants, retail outlets and other businesses make difficult staffing decisions. The economic impacts are currently the most visible, but a more pressing concern is simmering behind the economic concerns. A looming health emergency may strain our abilities to provide adequate care and emergency services to our fellow Texans. We must pull together to ensure we can meet the needs we will inevitably face. As part of that pulling together, I ask businesses to remit the taxes they collected from Texans by the established due date.

“We will examine each tax due date as it approaches, and I will keep lawmakers and all stakeholders informed as the agency evaluates rapidly changing conditions.”