Rarely is it ever stated in the media that taxes under Obama are lower even than under George W Bush (for example, tax cuts in the stimulus, the payroll rate reduction and some other minor tax policies).
Many liberals initially opposed the idea, because payroll tax rates aren't progressive (everyone pays the same rate) and because they tax only labor income.
Handing payroll tax rates to the Fed would largely, though not entirely, eliminate this risk.
Lawmakers who care about spurring full-time employment, increasing consumer spending, or helping low-income workers would instead make a long-term commitment to lower payroll tax rates.
For now, Democrats and Republicans remain at loggerheads, blaming each other for the uncertainty around the payroll tax rates and aid for the unemployed.
But payroll tax rates have varied over time, most recently with the partial payroll tax holiday of 2011 and 2012 (interestingly, the Obama administration refers to the two-point reduction as a "tax cut").
Because the payroll tax rates are higher now than in 2012, a person moving earnings from 2012 to this year would increase his payroll tax but not increase his Social Security benefits.
Documents in the court records show that when President George Bush lowered payroll withholding rates in 1992, Block contacted its refund loan customers to show them how to increase their withholding back to the old levels.
WASHINGTON — When Congress handily passed a bill to set payroll tax rates, jobless benefits and Medicare doctors' fees for the next two months, it seemed to end an epic political struggle between President Obama and Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Employers added 236,000 jobs in February, evidence that the economy is gaining strength, but analysts generally agree that the number would have been higher if the federal government had not increased payroll tax rates in January.
