It wasn’t easy, but House Republicans finally agreed to a two-month extension of the federal payroll tax cut.
The move came on Thursday, when House Speaker John Boehner announced that the GOP reps would go along with the compromise bill that had been passed the Senate by an overwhelming margin.
Bottom line: Employees’ share of the Social Security payroll tax will stay at the current level, 4.2% of wages, through Feb. 29. In the absence of Congressional action, it would revert to the usual 6.2% next month.
The government will also continue paying unemployment insurance benefits under current policy through February.
Read the full New York Times account here.
