Payroll tax cuts removed from $1 trillion COVID-19 relief package proposal

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the program would be redesigned to provide workers a portion of their income.

News 12 Staff

Jul 24, 2020, 10:20 AM

Updated 1,616 days ago

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Talks continue on Capitol Hill on a new coronavirus relief package that would renew unemployment benefits, but at lower levels.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the program would be redesigned to provide workers a portion of their income.
Mnuchin said officials are looking at about a 70% wage replacement.
Originally, the $1 trillion proposal included a Social Security payroll tax cut which has since been removed.
"The president's priority for the moment is to get money into the Americans quickly and one problem with the payroll tax cut is it takes time, so we are much more focused now on direct payments," says Mnuchin.
The new package would also provide another round of stimulus checks, billions of dollars to safely reopen schools this fall, and money for coronavirus testing.