Maffei Introduces First Piece of Legislation
Feb 5, 2013
Press Release
Maffei’s Bill Saves Middle Class Central New Yorkers over $1,000
Representative Dan Maffei (D-NY) introduced his first piece of legislation as Central New York’s new Representative in the 113th Congress today. Maffei introduced The Middle Class Payroll Tax Relief Act, a bill to temporarily extend the two percent payroll tax cut through the end of 2013. The proposed change would benefit over 10 million hardworking New Yorkers in 2013 and would save most Central New York families over $1,000 per year.
“Today I introduced the Middle Class Payroll Tax Relief Act which puts over $1,000 a year back into the pockets of hardworking Central New Yorker families” said Representative Dan Maffei . “We are not out of this recession yet. Central New York families deserve to keep more of the money they earn, especially during these tough economic times. Growing the middle class, creating jobs, and fixing the economy are my top priorities and Central New Yorkers need this relief right now.”
Background:
The payroll tax cut has had real results for American families. An average middle class family with $50,000 in income saved $1,000 a year while the cut was in effect. That is an extra $42 in every paycheck for working families.
In New York’s 24th Congressional district, the median family income is $51,724, meaning most Central New York families in this district would save about $1,034 a year. Across the district, families in Cayuga County would save $1,000, families in Onondaga County would save $1,060, families in Oswego County would save $940, and families in Wayne County would save $1,080 a year.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 10.1 million hardworking New Yorkers would benefit from the payroll tax cut extension. [Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – September 2011]
Last year, according to data compiled by the Joint Economic Committee [Joint Economic Committee - December 2012]:
- The payroll tax cut is estimated to have grown the economy by half a percentage point in 2012 and is credited with saving or creating an estimated 400,000 jobs.
- More than half the households benefitting from the tax cut earned less than $100,000, and 85 percent of households benefitting from the tax cut earned less than $200,000.
- The jobs supported by the payroll tax cut contributed at least $1 billion in additional Social Security payroll taxes to the Social Security Trust Fund through tax withholding.
Other economists agree that extending the payroll tax cut benefits our economy:
- The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the two percent reduction of payroll taxes would raise economic output cumulatively through 2013 by as much as $0.90 per dollar spent, a nearly dollar for dollar investment in our economy. [Congressional Budget Office – November 2011]
- Recent analysis indicates that workers spent their extra income at a much higher rate than they initially intended, further driving economic output. [Federal Reserve Bank of New York – January 2013]
- Goldman Sachs estimates that failure to extend the payroll tax cut would slow economic growth by 0.6 percent. [Business Insider – October 2012]
Issues: