Politics
Obama urges congress to expand payroll tax cut
President Obama plunged into the heart of Republican primary land on Tuesday to deliver a direct challenge to Congress to act quickly to extend and expand the payroll tax cut when lawmakers return from the Thanksgiving holidays next week.
Laying out his proposal in deliberately simple and stark terms, the president told an audience here that if Republicans in Congress vote no, middle-class families will have to pay an additional US$1,000 in taxes next year when the temporary break ends.
“Next week, they’ll get a simple vote,” Mr. Obama said. “No, your taxes go up. Yes, you get a tax cut. Which way do you think Congress should vote?”
The crowd cheered “yes,” as Mr. Obama went on to urge them to call their Congressional representatives and urge them to support the extension and expansion of the tax cut, which Congressional Republicans have previously rejected when it was part of the president’s overall jobs bill.
