White House warns stimulus package ‘must’ include Trump payroll tax cut proposal

[pppolitics]

The White House is insisting that Congress include a payroll tax cut as part of the next coronavirus stimulus package, potentially complicating talks with lawmakers by pushing a measure that President Trump has tried but failed to advance for almost a year.

“As he has done since the beginning of this pandemic, President Trump wants to provide relief to hardworking Americans who have been impacted by this virus and one way of doing that is with a payroll tax holiday,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. “He’s called on Congress to pass this before and he believes it must be part of any phase four package.”

Trump’s renewed push for a payroll tax holiday comes as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) prepares to unveil legislation next week that he hopes will launch negotiations on the next major coronavirus bill.

Key Republican senators have been cool to the idea of a payroll tax cut in the past, partly because it only helps workers who are actually employed. Congress has rebuffed Trump’s previous demands for a payroll tax cut for individuals, instead approving a round of checks to individual Americans as part of the $2 trillion Cares Act in March.

[...]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/07/16/payroll-tax-cut-trump-coronavirus/

[Antonio the Sixth]

If Democrats give a single inch, they are morons.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Ds arent gonna budge, the next budget deal is going into 2021 anyways. Oct 31st is the expiration of 2020 budget. Biden is gonna be Prez

[Mr.Phips]

Dems should be fine with this as long as Social Security is reimbursed by the general fund.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Democrats in the House should counter that they're fine with the proposal, but that any legislation must be signed by Acting President Pence.

[Progressive Pessimist]

More hostage negotiation tactics from the President.

[Koharu]

Or what?

Is Mitchie going to do Trump's dirty work for him again? I'm pretty sure the House and Senate can and will come to an agreement that doesn't include this, and I'd love to see Trump refuse to sign a coronavirus remitted package. That'd be adding gasoline to the dumpster fire that is currently his campaign. But Mitch will probably do the whole "I won't move this to the floor until it says what I want it to say" thing. Ugh.

[Gass3268]

If Democrats give a single inch, they are morons.

Only thing I would take in return is expansive postal/electoral funding.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

As someone who does payrolls, a midyear change in payroll taxes is not a fun prospect for me. We already had the fun of having a second version of Form 941 this year because of the coronavirus provisions. If this cockamamie idea passes, I hope it doesn't take effect until October 1 so that it isn't part of this quarter.