Senate defeats Republican payroll tax extension proposal
The Senate recently turned down a $120 billion proposal that would have placed an extra surtax on millionaires to fund an extension of the payroll tax holiday, The Associated Press reports.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, put forward an alternative to President Barack Obama's push to further lower payroll tax from 4.2 percent to 3.1 percent. Under McConnell's bill, the extension would remain at 4.2 percent, federal government employees' salaries would be frozen for three years and the federal workforce would be reduced by 10 percent (200,000 workers).
The Temporary Tax Holiday and Government Reduction Act would have extended the current 2 percent payroll tax cut for one year, eliminated millionaires' and billionaires' eligibility for unemployment compensation and food stamps, and required them to pay higher Medicare premiums, Accounting Today notes.
The bill was defeated by Democrats and more than two dozen Republicans. This left Congress no closer to resolving the question of an extension as the expiration date of the current holiday (December 31) approaches.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, put forward an alternative to President Barack Obama's push to further lower payroll tax from 4.2 percent to 3.1 percent. Under McConnell's bill, the extension would remain at 4.2 percent, federal government employees' salaries would be frozen for three years and the federal workforce would be reduced by 10 percent (200,000 workers).
The Temporary Tax Holiday and Government Reduction Act would have extended the current 2 percent payroll tax cut for one year, eliminated millionaires' and billionaires' eligibility for unemployment compensation and food stamps, and required them to pay higher Medicare premiums, Accounting Today notes.
The bill was defeated by Democrats and more than two dozen Republicans. This left Congress no closer to resolving the question of an extension as the expiration date of the current holiday (December 31) approaches.
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