Trump May Try To Bolster Economy With Payroll Tax Cut

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration is considering a temporary payroll tax cut as a way to bolster the U.S. economy though he continues to insist the nation is not inching toward a recession.
“I’ve been thinking about payroll taxes for a long time,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
“We’re looking at various tax reductions. But I’m looking at that all the time anyway,” he said, adding “Many people would like to see that.”
He also said that the administration is also looking at doing something on the capital gains tax, saying he’d “love” to do something in that regard, but he cautioned reporters that nothing has been decided.
“We’re looking at various tax reductions,” Trump said. “That’s one of the reasons we’re in such a strong economic position. We’re right now, the No 1 country anywhere in the world by far as the economy. Europe’s got a lot of problems. Asia’s got a lot of problems. You look at China, China’s had the worst year they’ve had in 27 years.”
The White House has been disputing that a recession is coming since last week, when a number of respected analysts and an automatic inversion in the Treasury bond all suggest a recession could come any time in the next two years.
Trump and members of the White House staff continued to push back at the recession talk Monday and Tuesday, but the president also lashed out at the Federal Reserve and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, saying “If the Fed would do its job … lowering interest rates … we’d have a tremendous spurt of growth.”
“I’d like to see a cut of the Fed rate, because they should have happened a long time ago,” Trump continued. “I think they’re being very tardy not doing it and not having done it …They also did quantitative tightening, which was ridiculous, and despite that, our economy’s grown fantastically.
“If you take a look at the previous administration, they had no interest. They had no interest rates, they had loosening, not tightening, and, frankly, the difference in our job is that we have to be proactive,” the president said.
While cutting payroll taxes could result in a temporary jump in spending by middle class consumers, it would also increase the deficit and make it harder to finance Medicare and Social Security, both of which are funded by payroll taxes.
In The News
Health
Voting
Economy

WASHINGTON – The House passed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package in the wee hours of Saturday morning, helping President Joe Biden clear the first hurdle in passing an economic stimulus bill that includes $1,400 in direct payments to U.S. households, an extension of federal supplements... Read More

BOISE, Idaho – To the outsider, it seems like a movie that has a bizarre twist just as the heroine should be taking her victory lap. Lauren Stein McLean, an entrepreneur who had served on Boise, Idaho’s city council for nearly a decade, and served as... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are ready to shove a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package through the House on Friday, despite a setback that means a minimum wage boost is unlikely to be in the final version that reaches President Joe Biden.A near party-line vote seemed certain... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week but remained high by historical standards. Applications for benefits declined 111,000 from the previous week to a seasonally adjusted 730,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It is the lowest figure since late... Read More

WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci says if a coronavirus vaccine is available, regardless of which one, take it. The top U.S. infectious disease expert told NBC on Thursday a third vaccine becoming available “is nothing but good news” and would help control of the pandemic. U.S.... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans rallied solidly against Democrats' proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill as lawmakers awaited a decision by the Senate's parliamentarian that could bolster or potentially kill a pivotal provision hiking the federal minimum wage. Despite their paper-thin congressional majorities, Democratic leaders were poised to push... Read More