Politics

Residents of states such as Utah, Idaho and South Dakota collected average stimulus payments topping $1,800.

A big cut in the payroll tax is high on President Donald Trump’s wish list for the next coronavirus response bill, but the idea is getting the brushoff from newly cost-conscious Republicans and Democrats who would rather send aid to people who aren’t getting a paycheck.

Two Senate Democrats are criticizing a little-known provision of the CARES Act stimulus package that would provide a tax break mostly to wealthy taxpayers, suspending excess business losses for prior tax years.

Some of the most contested pieces of the 2017 tax overhaul are being revisited as the White House and Congress begin to discuss another round of economic stimulus, including restoring the break for entertaining business clients and lifting the cap on state and local deductions.

One possible move is getting rid of the limit on state and local tax deductions, or SALT, that was part of the 2017 tax overhaul.

Former Vice President Joe Biden wants to raise taxes on the wealthy. Senator Bernie Sanders wants to send those levies off the charts.

The president spoke to Republicans at their weekly conference lunch at the Capitol as his administration prepares a package of economic measures to combat the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.

Survey finds 37 percent of the taxpayers would move to a different country for a tax-free future, 26 percent would get an “IRS” tattoo and 19 percent would stop talking for six months.

Key Democrats poured cold water on President Donald Trump’s proposal to include a payroll tax cut as part of his plan to respond to the coronavirus. Senior Republicans also held back from endorsing the suggestion ahead of a key lunch meeting on Tuesday.

The president will seek a payroll tax cut and “very substantial relief” for industries that have been hit by the virus, reversing course on the need for economic stimulus hours after markets posted their worst losses in more than a decade.