Some people in the United States might not get their $1,200 coronavirus relief checks for 20 weeks, IRS officials said.
The Ways and Means Committee expects the IRS to send out 60 million checks by the middle of April, according to a Democratic memo obtained by the Hill on Wednesday. The checks will go to those whom the IRS has tax information for, but the memo showed the IRS would likely need to obtain information from between 90 million to 110 million people.
The memo said the IRS will have a portal set up by the end of April or early May that will let individuals give the agency their direct deposit information or other means to receive funds.
New jobless claims soared to a record 6.6 million last week as the coronavirus pandemic has forced a mass shutdown of businesses. Half of U.S. companies are expected to layoff many employees, while another third of the country’s businesses are implementing hiring freezes.
In the last two weeks, 10 million U.S. workers have applied for unemployment benefits. Even more are expected to be unemployed without having applied for benefits.
President Trump assigned a $2.2 trillion relief package late last month to stem the economic impact of layoffs and lost business.
