House will not give staff payroll tax break allowed by Trump action – By Lindsey McPherson (Roll Call) / Sept 11 2020
Unique House payroll and potential for late-year staff departures cited
House employees will not have their payroll taxes deferred as allowed under President Donald Trump’s executive actions last month, Chief Administrative Officer Philip G. Kiko informed staff in a “Dear Colleague” letter Friday.
Trump last month gave employers the option starting Sept. 1 to defer collection of employee payroll taxes, which are withheld in paychecks, for individuals who make less than $4,000 on a bi-weekly basis. The tax deferral, authorized through the end of the year, is intended to be a stimulus measure to counter the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Although many private sector employers have opted not to participate, the Trump administration has told executive agencies to defer payroll taxes for federal employees. Because Congress is not part of the executive branch, House and Senate employees were not affected by that mandate.
The CAO, which oversees payroll for House employees, said it weighed the benefit of the deferral against the challenges of implementing it.
Continue to article: https://rollcall.com/2020/09/11/house-will-not-give-staff-payroll-tax-break-allowed-by-trump-order/
