Trump’s Fake Payroll Tax Cut Is A Big Mess – By Arthur Delaney and Dave Jamieson (Huffpost) / Oct 21 2020
The president’s deferral of Social Security taxes for federal workers is creating administrative headaches with virtually no economic benefit.
In August, President Donald Trump took unilateral action to help the economy weather the coronavirus pandemic by putting more money in people’s pockets: The government would take less money out of every paycheck by deferring payroll taxes, essentially giving everyone a raise.
Trump has loved the idea of juicing the economy with a payroll tax cut, just like his predecessor Barack Obama did from 2011 through 2012. Congress wouldn’t go along with Trump’s proposal, however, so the president did it himself.
But there was a catch with Trump’s plan ― the money would have to be paid back next year, meaning it’s not a tax cut so much as a deferral.
Most private employers appear to have opted out of the scheme, citing its administrative difficulty, and so did the U.S. Postal Service. But Trump decided to force it on his own workers — more than amillion employees of the federal government.
Continue to article> https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trumps-fake-payroll-tax-cut-is-a-big-mess_n_5f903d12c5b6b005f5f198a8
