As we ride the other side of the outbreak bell curve and Ohio opens back up, we continue to evaluate when the right time will be to move back to our office space. At this time, our team is continuing to work from home remotely, and we feel fortunate to have been able to make this shift quickly and efficiently. We miss being in our office space, getting to see our clients, and seeing each other, but our top priority is the safety of our staff and our clients. We want to be sure that we aren't taking unnecessary risks when we do migrate back to our office space, especially given that some of our team members have medical conditions that put them at higher risk.
In case you are not aware, there is an urgent care located on the first floor of our office building. This means that sick people looking for immediate medical care who may be infected with COVID-19 are entering our building every day. Accordingly, we are being extra cautious about inviting clients and our staff back to the office. So far, we have been back to the office on a few occasions, to grab extra equipment and water the plants. However, we did so at 7AM, before business hours and wearing PPE. Even though our building is open to the public and some businesses have chosen to return, we have kept our office locked and armed with a security system to keep our equipment and client data safe.
Since March, we have held all of our client meetings virtually, and while we wish that we could meet in person, the virtual meetings are going smoothly. We are beginning to schedule tax planning meetings for the summer. While we will be reaching out to all of our clients within the next few months to touch base, we also wanted to reassure you that we are also available outside of meetings to talk and stay connected. We always appreciate hearing from you!
Tax Deadline Reminder!
The 2019 tax return filing and tax payment deadline is July 15th. This is the case for your federal, state, and local tax returns. If you have not provided us with your tax documents for 2019 and do not plan to go on extension, this is your last call.
For many of our clients, we have filed returns, but we have elected for tax due to be withdrawn from the designated bank account on July 15th. If this applies to you, the timeline was discussed with you when your return was filed. If you aren't sure if you need to take action, please don't hesitate to reach out to us for confirmation.
If your local return needs to be paper-filed, a copy has been sent to you with supporting documents with instructions to mail it in with the necessary payment. These must be postmarked by July 15th.
Additionally, first and second quarter estimated tax payments for 2020 are both due on July 15th. We will be sending out an email reminder closer to that date to remind those of you who make estimated tax payments to put those in the mail.
In Closing, A Message of Solidarity
This has undoubtedly been a tumultuous past few weeks for our country. As Americans rise up to widely acknowledge, call out, and fight systemic racism, we feel that it is important that we, as a company, lend our unwavering support of this movement.
Diversity and inclusion have always been important to us. Black, brown, LGBTQ+, and female professionals are severely under-represented in the financial services industry. They are also under-represented as clients, due to lesser access to financial advice and the wealth gap that exists between marginalized groups and white men. As a women- and minority-owned company, we are acutely aware of these discrepancies. However, current events show that a much larger and pointed effort must be made toward dismantling all exclusionary and racist systems that exist in our society. As we see companies make public statements about their support of the Black Lives Matter movement, we want to highlight that this time in our history calls for more than just valuing diversity and inclusion. It calls for advocating for causes and institutional changes that will allow our black community to be able to thrive in this country. Last week, we proudly joined more than 750 businesses all over Columbus in signing a letter to the Columbus City Council in support of a resolution that declared racism a public health crisis. We continue to attend seminars to help us understand how to structure a business that is accepting and supporting of all people, which in the past has resulted in us seeking outside expertise to assist us with putting policies in place that are intentionally anti-discriminatory. We strive to give and contribute to causes that align with our values and our clients' values. As NorthAvenue grows, we plan to increase these efforts and to specifically consider how our efforts support black lives. As individuals and as a business, we are learning, listening, and brainstorming as to how we can play an active part in sustaining this moment into a movement. The protests and footage of police brutality toward black people have caused us to take deep reflection of our own implicit biases. Awareness is key, and action must follow. As one of our steps toward changing the tide, we have distributed the book, "White Fragility" by Robin DiAngelo, to our staff, and we've started an Anti-Racist Book Club among our peers in order to better understand the experiences of black America. We look forward to doing this vital work in educating ourselves in order to be stronger, louder, and more effective allies to our black community. We have to get to work. We hope everyone, especially those protesting, continue to stay safe. We support you.