Trump Signs Executive Orders Extending Unemployment Benefits, Deferring Payroll Tax
(CBS NEWS) - President Donald Trump signed several executive orders pertaining to unemployment relief on Saturday, including extending enhanced unemployment relief benefits, but at $400 a week instead of $600. It's unclear if he has the constitutional authority to implement the extended unemployment benefit or a payroll tax cut, another one of the executive orders he announced.
The orders, if implemented, would provide $400 in added unemployment benefits out of work because of the pandemic, and defer payroll taxes for those earning less than $100,000 a year. Unemployed workers had been receiving a supplement of $600, a benefit that expired on July 31.
The payroll tax would be deferred through the end of the year but still be owed by workers without further action. The cut will apply to the tax workers pay for Social Security and Medicare, currently 6.2% and 1.45%.