Recently the story that Republicans are in favor of allowing the payroll tax to increase over President Obama’s opposition has been making the rounds on the internet. The story, presented as evidence of Republican hypocrisy on taxes, is more complex than it seems.
The cut in the payroll tax stems from last year’s compromise to extend the low, Bush-era tax rates for all Americans. A provision of the compromise deal lowered the Social Security payroll tax from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent for employees during 2011. Employers were still required to pay the full 6.2 percent for their portion of the payroll tax. The self-employment tax was also cut by two percent. If not extended, the payroll tax will return to 6.2 percent for employees at the end of the year. The employer portion will remain the same.
Read the rest of this article on Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-atlanta/why-the-republicans-are-considering-a-tax-increase
David W. Thornton
CaptainKudzu 