The executive branch has authority to delay tax due dates for as long as a year during a declared disaster. Trump’s order would likely face legal challenges because it’s unclear whether Trump has the authority to require employers to hand over the tax-cut savings to their employees. Employers are required to withhold and submit payroll levies on behalf of their employees. That makes them more likely to hang onto that money so they aren’t stuck trying to get it back from employees if the bill comes due.
In that event, many employees wouldn’t even see relief, because the money wouldn’t ever have reached their paychecks.
After more than a week of negotiations with Mnuchin and Meadows, Schumer and Pelosi said they still have significant differences to bridge, including the enhanced unemployment benefit that was in the last stimulus bill but now has expired.
The talks take on added urgency as time passes. The November general election is 89 days away and economic data show signs that the economy is still hobbling along. The Labor Department reported that applications for unemployment benefits fell more than expected, to the lowest since the pandemic started. But with claims still exceeding a million on a weekly basis, the job market has a long road to fully recovering.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.