Trump's Payroll-Tax Deferral Creates Predicament for Congress
WASHINGTON—President Trump’s decision to defer payroll taxes until the end of the year is leaving challenges for lawmakers to manage after he leaves office in January, and they haven’t figured out what—if anything—to do. Members of Congress in both parties weren’t keen on the August executive action, which let employers stop collecting the 6.2% Social Security payroll tax from many workers in the final four months of 2020. The move was meant as a form of relief during the economic slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but few employers stopped withholding.
That created a predicament for Congress. Employees whose payroll taxes temporarily shrank will face double withholding starting in January, which could pinch households that haven’t planned for it. Doing nothing could cause harm for those workers, but helping only them could be unfair to others whose taxes continued to be withheld.
Mr. Trump couldn’t get Congress to cut payroll taxes, so he used the administration’s ability to defer tax deadlines after a disaster to delay payments of the employees’ portion of Social Security taxes. He promised that if he won re-election, he would push to turn that delay into a real tax cut.
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Official figures aren’t available yet, but payroll processor Paychex Inc. said take-up has been very low. The one big exception—which could create pressure for Congress to act—is the federal workforce, including many members of the military. Mr. Trump required executive-branch employees to participate.
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Forgiving the unpaid tax has some appeal, because it would avoid the hardships of a sudden drop in paychecks and provide a boost to households. The payback can be particularly messy if employees have left their jobs before it is complete and the government needs to find them or seek payment from their employers.
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-payroll-tax-deferral-creates-predicament-for-congress-11606492800 (subscription)
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Gawd these folks are such assholes and the poor fed employees will pay the price all the way around. 
