At its April 7 video meeting, the Mercer Island City Council approved an ordinance to delay business and occupation (B&O) tax payments.

Over the past few weeks, the city has heard from the Chamber of Commerce as well as business owners about the financial hardships caused by the COVID-19 emergency and mandatory closures, a city press release said.

For businesses that submit B&O tax payments quarterly, the council amended the city’s code allowing the finance director to extend payment deadlines this year during the COVID-19 emergency. The extensions would apply to businesses earning at least $250,000 per quarter — all other businesses (earning at least $150,001 per year) pay B&O tax annually.

The director is expected to announce that first- and second-quarter payment deadlines will be extended to Oct. 31, 2020. The city will rely on cash reserves to sustain city operations due to the delayed tax revenues and also to support the city’s ongoing emergency response.

The new ordinance is expected to become effective on April 20.

The measure comes on the heels of other city actions designed to assist local businesses, including the designation of a small business liaison, promotion of “Takeout Tuesday” events, special parking zones for food delivery drivers and providing extensive information on grants and Small Business Administration disaster loans.

Further resources are online at https://letstalk.mercergov.org/coronavirus_business.