WASHINGTON—U.S. Representative Scott Franklin (FL-15) joined his colleagues in urging the IRS to expedite COVID relief for eligible Americans. Franklin joined 43 of his colleagues in sending a bi-partisan letter to IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig on the announced delay in dispersing the $600 Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) that are supposed to be sent to millions of Americans. Below are excerpts of the official letter.

“We appreciate your work to quickly get a second round of Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) out to the American people. However, we write to express concern about the IRS’s decision to require people who have not received their EIP to wait until they file their 2020 taxes. Several of our constituents have reached out to raise these concerns as well. This decision by the IRS adds bureaucratic hurdles that make access to these payments difficult and leaves people with no option to access financial relief to address immediate financial obligations,” the members wrote.

“Unfortunately, the IRS’s decision to direct people who have not received their EIPs to wait to file their 2020 taxes would delay getting these checks out to people as soon as possible. Further, the IRS is still processing 2019 tax returns, and we are concerned that this backlog could further delay taxpayers from receiving their second EIP if they wait to receive their direct payment through their 2020 tax return,” they continued.

“[W]e urge the IRS provide Americans options to submit the direct payment information directly to the IRS, whether by submitting their bank information through a secure portal, or by submitting their mailing address so that they may receive a check in the mail,” the letter stated.

The full text of the letter is available HERE.

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