ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Comptroller Peter Franchot announced Monday that his office will be closing the taxpayer services call center to help protect employees' health.
Starting Monday, call center agents will no longer be staffing the the 1-800-MD-TAXES phone lines following the close of business at 4:30 p.m. today. People who have tax questions must email them to taxhelp@marylandtaxes.gov. However, the comptroller warns of slow response times since limited staff will be focused on processing tax refunds and tax returns.
"For many Marylanders who are financially struggling to survive this crisis, their tax refunds will be a huge relief, so we want our very limited on-site workforce remaining to prioritize getting that money to them as quickly as possible," said Franchot in a statement. "By extending the filing and payment deadline for individual and corporate income taxes to July 15, as well as postponing most business tax payments until June 1, we've given taxpayers extra breathing room and allowed our staff to continue answering taxpayer questions without having to report to state offices."
According to the comptroller's office, essential employees will be focusing on processing income tax returns and issuing refunds as fast as possible.
Franchot advises all critical employees to take the necessary health precautions during this time. There will also be wellness screenings for staffers and spatial distancing between workers.