Payroll tax break considered as way to boost hiring

Charlotte Observer, June 9, 2011

President Barack Obama’s advisers have discussed seeking a temporary cut in the payroll taxes businesses pay on wages amid economic reports suggesting the recovery is slowing, according to people familiar with the matter.

The idea, in preliminary stages of discussion, is among several being debated in the administration with the aim of boosting hiring, the sources said. who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The unemployment rate in May rose to 9.1 percent, the highest level this year.

The idea of a cut in the employer contribution to payroll taxes also has recently been discussed by Republican members of Congress, said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who was chief economic adviser in 2008 to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Bloomberg News