Donald Trump wants to permanently end payroll taxes, which affects Social Security

I won’t pretend that I’ve been hit financially by the pandemic. I have my savings, and I still have my job, which I love. If anything, I’m spending less money because I’m barely going out and I’m not eating in restaurants (I get a lot of takeout from non-chain restaurants though). But I understand my privileged financial position and I can’t believe that the federal government isn’t doing more to support people this year. This is the year where the government just needs to send everyone a $1000 check every month at the bare f–king minimum. Unemployment benefits should be expanded not curtailed. And FFS, do not touch Social Security and Medicare. But instead of all of those common sense economic policies, we’re getting sh-t like this:

President Donald Trump tried to assert executive power by signing four actions on coronavirus relief Saturday, one of which will provide as much as $400 in enhanced unemployment benefits after Democrats and the White House were unable to reach an agreement on a stimulus bill this week. But that memorandum on enhanced unemployment benefits — 25% of which states are being asked to cover — has more strings attached than the White House acknowledged and is seen as a cumbersome effort that may not help a lot of the unemployed.

The other three actions he signed include a memorandum on a payroll tax holiday for Americans earning less than $100,000 a year, an executive order on “assistance to renters and homeowners” and a memorandum on deferring student loan payments.

“I’m taking action to provide an additional or extra $400 a week and expanded benefits, $400. That’s generous but we want to take care of our people,” Trump said about his memorandum on unemployment benefits at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. But it’s more complicated than that. A state must agree to enter into a financial arrangement with the federal government for any unemployed person living there to get any of the additional benefits. And the federal government is requiring states to pick up the tab for 25% (or $100) of the $400 additional benefit each person may able to receive weekly in additional aid.

Up to $44 billion from the Disaster Relief Fund would be made available for “lost wage assistance” to supplement state payments, according to the memorandum issued by the White House shortly after Trump’s news conference.

[From CNN]

Trump signed these EOs at his Bedminster golf club, because of course he did, and he also promised to make all of these EOs “permanent,” especially the payroll tax “relief.” Payroll taxes pay into Social Security and Medicare, so basically Trump is promising to defund two social programs for seniors. Trump’s people spent the past 24 hours trying to walk that back. Some think that Trump is trying to set a bigly trap for Biden on taxes. I hope Biden is like “Social Security and Medicare need to be protected at all costs, end of.”

I have a question for all of the CPA/tax-preparer gossips out there: 2020 tax filings are going to be crazy, right? I’m already dreading it.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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