Fitch: “Fitch considers U.S. debt tolerance to be higher than that of other ‘AAA’ sovereigns. However, high fiscal deficits and debt — which were already rising even before the onset of the huge economic shock precipitated by the coronavirus — are starting to erode these credit strengths.”

“The risk of a near-term negative rating action has risen given the magnitude of the shock to the economy and public finances from the coronavirus and the commensurate and necessary fiscal policy response, particularly in the absence of a credible consolidation plan for the country’s pre-existing, longer-term public finance and government debt challenges.”

“The three states that President Donald Trump has formally declared coronavirus disaster areas have not received the disaster unemployment assistance that they expected to follow that designation,” Politico reports.

“New York, California and Washington state all requested access to several aid programs provided under a disaster declaration, including disaster unemployment assistance.”

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Friday that the IRS tax filing deadline was extended three months to July 15 amid the coronavirus outbreak.

“The coronavirus pandemic is about to test the bounds of how much debt the U.S. government can bear,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Even before the crisis hit, the U.S. was on track to increase its budget deficit to nearly $1 trillion in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. It was already up to $625 billion in the five months since the current fiscal year began Oct. 1.”

“Now analysts say the deficit will soar well past the record $1.5 trillion hit in 2009, when the U.S. reeled through two years of financial crisis and recession.”

“President Trump on Wednesday signaled plans to formally nominate Russ Vought to serve as the permanent director of the Office of Management and Budget,” The Hill reports.

“Vought has served at the helm of OMB for more than a year in an acting capacity, having taken over for Mick Mulvaney as he served as the president’s acting chief of staff.”

In a Senate floor speech, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) described undocumented immigrants as not “legitimate” people while making the case that they should not be given access to federal child tax credits, the Daily Beast reports.

Said Paul: “If you want to apply for money from the government through the child tax credit program, then you have to be a legitimate person. It has nothing to do with not liking immigrants. It has to do with saying, taxpayer money shouldn’t go to non-people.”

The Trump administration requested an additional $45.8 billion from Congress – beyond existing funding requests that could total more than $1 trillion – to cover “unanticipated” costs incurred by government agencies responding to the novel coronavirus crisis, CNBC reports.

“The U.S. government will postpone the April 15 tax-payment deadline for millions of individuals, giving Americans another 90 days to pay their 2019 income-tax bills in an unprecedented move,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Wall Street Journal: “The Trump administration is likely to extend the April 15 tax deadline as part of an effort to mitigate the effects of the novel coronavirus on U.S. households and businesses.”

“Neither the decision to extend the deadline nor the mechanics of how such an extension might work are yet final. Normally, individuals must pay their prior year’s taxes by April 15 or face penalties and interest charges. People can already get extensions through mid-October to file their returns as long as they have paid on time by mid-April. This decision would go further than that.”

“White House officials are considering deferring taxes for industries hurt by the coronavirus outbreak, including the cruise, travel and airline industries, among other options,” the Washington Post reports.

“The discussions are a sign that the White House is grappling with the economic fallout of the coronavirus outbreak, while publicly downplaying the financial pain.”

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said that President Trump wants to cut the corporate tax rate again, to 20% from the current 21%, Politico reports.

Mulvaney also said a proposal to index capital gains taxes for inflation is also on the table as the administration crafts its long-promised plan for a second round of tax cuts.