Obama to Urge Congress to Act on Payroll Tax Extension
EmailPresident Obama is scheduled to travel to New Hampshire today to urge lawmakers to extend and expand the payroll tax cut, a key provision of his $447 billion jobs bill.
“If Congress fails to extend the current payroll tax cut, taxes will go up on millions of people at a time when families are struggling to make ends meet,” a White House official said.
The president’s proposal would provide a tax cut for 160 million workers by increasing the payroll tax cut from 2.0 percent to 3.1 percent, “providing a significant boost to consumers and the economy,” according to the White House.
The plan would also cut payroll taxes nearly in half for small businesses, from 6.1 to 3.1 percent, on the first $5 million in wages for employers and provide a payroll tax holiday on any increase in payroll for firms that hire new workers or increase wages.
“With the holiday season approaching, the president will urge Congress to act not just to ensure that taxes don’t go up on middle class families at the beginning of the year, but also to cut taxes for families and small businesses in the American Jobs Act to help strengthen the recovery and create jobs now,” the official said.
In a speech he is scheduled to deliver in Manchester, N.H., the president will also unveil a new web tool that will allow Americans to see how much money they could save if Congress passes the jobs act and how much their taxes will go up if Congress fails to act.
The president will also meet with a local family before delivering remarks at Manchester High School Central.
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I don’t get it! So the President wants to retain payroll tax cuts yet continue to pursue raising income tax rates? If he supports the latter, then why not the former? Both are ‘disposable’ income taxes imposed on the taxpayer. If income tax rates were the problem as the President and Speaker have stated over and over again, then why did he not raise them last November when he had the votes and the super majority to do so?
Posted by: stephen | November 22, 2011, 7:20 am 7:20 am
He should call for a constitutional convention to fix our dysfunctional government. Lobbyists and institutionalized corruption have created this latest mess, the meltdown, and many, many other problems. Why not clean it up? We have the ability to fix this.
Posted by: sameagain | November 22, 2011, 7:49 am 7:49 am
Obama is playing the good cop while blaming Congress as the bad cop. He is trying to create the impression that he is the savior and will come and save us from the do nothing Congress. You can’t actually think about what he is saying since he says on the one had he wants to lower your taxes and in the next breath wants to raise your taxes. The reason question is will the MSM do their job this time and call him out or stand idly by once again with starry eyes????
Posted by: whathappened08 | November 22, 2011, 8:13 am 8:13 am
“Obama will make a pitch for extending and expanding a soon-to-expire payroll tax cut for 160 million workers and imposing new payroll tax cuts for some small business employers.” ——— LOL! What a quandary for the Republicans! Do they AGREE with Obama and extend a tax cut that helps literally half the country? Or do they OPPOSE the president and push for a defacto tax increase, despite their Grover Norquist pledge? What to do, what to do, what to do………………………..
Posted by: Searambler | November 22, 2011, 8:32 am 8:32 am
stephen | November 22, 2011, 7:20 am post ———– The Democrats haven’t had a super-majority in Congress since August 2009, when Kennedy died. Last December there was a huge battle about letting the Bush-era ‘temporary’ tax cuts expire on time, as they were scheduled to do. Don’t you remember that? The Republicans said if we didn’t extend the tax cuts, then they would block extending unemployment benefits for millions of unemployed people, AND they would block the Zadroga Bill which provided funds for medical issues suffered by our 9/11 First Responders. Republicans said “NO” to those things unless the tax cuts for the rich were extended. Actually they wanted them made permanent but ‘settled’ for a two year extension. There will be another battle about them NEXT December…………
Posted by: Searambler | November 22, 2011, 8:38 am 8:38 am
The President travels to New Hampshire today to urge lawmakers to extend and expand the payroll tax cut.
Now watch, when Jan 1 comes around and Congress is still grid locked over this tax bill, the republicans will blame President Obama because they can’t do their job.
Posted by: tmferretti | November 22, 2011, 9:01 am 9:01 am
WOW– I wondered why Obama would choose such a childish strategy like good cop/bad cop for his reelection campaign, but after reading the comments from his naive bloggers it becomes self explanatory. Wait for it……
Posted by: whathappened08 | November 22, 2011, 9:04 am 9:04 am
One word…votes.
Posted by: newcountryman | November 22, 2011, 10:05 am 10:05 am
Why did he wait so long to get involved? Does he just want to be able to employ his modus operendi – blame someone else? Is is Bush2/Clinton/Bush2/Reagan/Carter/Nixon Johnson’s fault?
Posted by: deanbob | November 22, 2011, 10:31 am 10:31 am
TMFERRETTI | NOVEMBER 22, 2011, 9:01 AM 9:01 AM…….How many bills are sitting in Senate that Harry Reid refuses to allow ANY debate/discussion on? Who is holding up the process of passing legislation?
Posted by: deanbob | November 22, 2011, 10:34 am 10:34 am
How many bills are sitting in Senate that Harry Reid refuses to allow ANY debate/discussion on? Who is holding up the process of passing legislation?
—————–
That’s what Republicans do. They hold up the process of having the correct taxation process.
Posted by: Jeffrey Immelt | November 22, 2011, 10:40 am 10:40 am
Ignorance is bliss?
Posted by: deanbob | November 22, 2011, 10:43 am 10:43 am
“The subjects of every state ought to contribute toward the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state ….[As Henry Home (Lord Kames) has written, a goal of taxation should be to] ‘remedy inequality of riches as much as possible, by relieving the poor and burdening the rich.’”
– Adam Smith, Wealth Of Nations
Posted by: davem | November 22, 2011, 11:39 am 11:39 am
President Obama is holding the republicans feet to the fire. His threatened veto, if they try to amend the sequestered cuts, won’t allow them to squirm out of the mess they created.
I think in the long run he’ll allow them some wiggle room because he knows these cuts (especially defense) will cost jobs. Many of the republicans have military bases in their districts who are already laying off civilians, as are many defense contractors in anticipation of these idiotic cuts.
The republicans created this mess with their thick headedness; now their trying to get out of the chaos they created and blame the President who has no control of Congress in the first place. They continue to think they can blow smoke up the backsides of middle class Americans
Posted by: tmferretti | November 22, 2011, 11:55 am 11:55 am
As a lower middle class citizen and becoming more economically challenged daily,
I will do my Warren Buffet impersonation, Raise my taxes I’m not paying enough.
At least the tax cut money for me will go back into my social security savings account.
That lock box, and with the government in charge of it I don’t have at thing to worry
about retirement at 65, Oh no, that’s right they change that already, 67 I hope?
Posted by: deadwrestler | November 22, 2011, 12:16 pm 12:16 pm
“They continue to think they can blow smoke up the backsides of middle class Americans.”
Posted by: tmferretti | November 22, 2011, 11:55 am 11:55 am
It sounds like Obama succeeded doing that to you.
Posted by: Mary | November 22, 2011, 12:37 pm 12:37 pm
Posted by: deadwrestler | November 22, 2011, 12:16 pm 12:16 pm
I have an investment in solar energy if you’re interested. No money down, return guaranteed!
Posted by: Solyndra | November 22, 2011, 12:54 pm 12:54 pm
President Obama is holding the republicans feet to the fire. His threatened veto, if they try to amend the sequestered cuts, won’t allow them to squirm out of the mess they created.
I think in the long run he’ll allow them some wiggle room because he knows these cuts (especially defense) will cost jobs. Many of the republicans have military bases in their districts who are already laying off civilians, as are many defense contractors in anticipation of these idiotic cuts.
The republicans created this mess with their thick headedness; now their trying to get out of the chaos they created and blame the President who has no control of Congress in the first place. They continue to think they can blow smoke up the backsides of middle class Americans
POSTED BY: TMFERRETTI | NOVEMBER 22, 2011, 11:55 AM 11:55 AM
All this instability and damage to the country just so the Republican elite can chip away a few percentage points in taxes for millionaires and billionaires.
Posted by: Dave | November 22, 2011, 1:38 pm 1:38 pm
Posted by: Dave | November 22, 2011, 1:38 pm 1:38 pm
I’ll be fine as long as nobody takes away my welfare lifestyle. But if you try to make me work for it, there will be h*** to pay!
Posted by: Tierra & Sockpuppets | November 22, 2011, 1:57 pm 1:57 pm
Social Security is in trouble.
Why is the Federal Government cutting it’s funding?
Why is Obama in favor of this?
I thought the Demos wanted to increase revenue for the Federal Government?!?!
Something’s wrong with this picture.
We aren’t being told the truth.
Posted by: Noz | November 22, 2011, 2:14 pm 2:14 pm
All political posturing, he never pays for any of his giveaways, we the people pay for his spending, $4 billion a day.
Posted by: Freedom | November 23, 2011, 9:21 am 9:21 am