Payroll tax deferral would become optional under new bill – By Jessie Bur (Federal Times) / Oct 10 2020
Federal employees and military servicemembers would have to provide written consent to be included in President Donald Trump’s payroll tax deferral program, under legislation announced Oct. 9 in the Senate.
“President Trump is using federal employees and our troops as pawns in his payroll tax scheme, and it’s unacceptable. During this time of heightened uncertainty, our public servants deserve the ability to choose what makes most sense for them and for their pocketbooks. That’s why the president’s payroll tax deferral must be made optional. Since this move has been described as ‘reasonable’ by President Trump’s own Treasury secretary, I urge the Congress to act quickly on this commonsense measure,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., a cosponsor of the bill.
The payroll tax deferral is optional for private employers, and most have chosen not to participate, as those taxes that are deferred from 2020 paychecks would still have to be collected in 2021, resulting in employees that take home smaller paychecks than they normally would.
But federal employees and members of the military were automatically enrolled, with some saying they were given very little explanation for how that money would need to be paid back in later months.
Continue to article: https://www.federaltimes.com/federal-oversight/congress/2020/10/09/payroll-tax-deferral-would-become-optional-under-new-bill/
