Tornado Alley (PROG)

[SilverSurfer]

President Obama pushes to extend payroll tax cut
(tinner - a fuss with the President may get you somehwere)
DURHAM, N.C. – President Barack Obama signaled Monday that a deficit-cutting package should include an extension of the one-year payroll tax cut for workers, saying any effort to slash government spending must be coupled with targeted investments.

Obama traveled to this key state in the 2012 election as part of a two-day swing that includes stops in Florida and Puerto Rico — a trip that appears designed to show the president is proactive on the economy as his job approval ratings decline and the Republican presidential contenders hammer his record....
The president first hinted last week that the payroll tax cut, which expires at the end of this year, should be extended. But his comments Monday were his most direct statement yet that the tax cut should be part of any deal between the White House and Congress to raise the country’s debt limit.

“One thing I do think is important is we are keeping our eye on the need to accelerate the recovery as part of the overall package that we agree to,” Obama said. “I’ve long believed that coming out of as bad of a recession as we’ve been in it’s important for us to focus on what the real drivers are of our debt and deficit problems. And that’s not the day-to-day spending. It’s the structural problems that we’ve had between sending too much money out and not bringing enough money in.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56833.html#ixzz1RQeVWYAB



06/14/11
President open to extending payroll tax cut, other tax breaks
President Obama said he is open to continuing certain tax cuts that he believes could help to move the U.S. economy forward. During a joint news conference on June 7 with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the President singled out the one-year payroll tax cut and tax breaks for business investment in plants and equipment that he signed into law (Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 (P.L . 111-312) on December 17, 2010 (see CCH Payroll Management Guide Report Letter Issue No. 2178, dated December 23, 2011.)

“One of the things that I'm going to be interested in exploring with the members of both parties in Congress is how do we continue some of these policies to make sure that we get this recovery up and running in a robust way,” Obama said in answer to a question on whether any measures can be taken to address the faltering economy.

Obama acknowledged there is still “enormous work to do” to spur job growth but noted the creation of two million jobs over the past 15 months and the rebound of the manufacturing sector as an indication that the U.S. has “set a path that will lead us to long-term growth.” The president also stressed the need to reform the tax system so it is simpler, more transparent and encourages business investment.

The president emphasized the importance of addressing the federal deficit in a ”balanced and sensible” way. “The need for us to get a handle on our debt and our deficit is going to be important” along with finding a way to ensure there are investments in education, energy and infrastructure, Obama stressed.http://hr.cch.com/news/payroll/061411a.asp