As Congress battles over the makeup of the Phase 4 coronavirus stimulus proposals, President Donald Trump is seeking a payroll tax cut to help Americans struggling due to mass shutdowns.
Economic adviser Art Laffer has been the biggest proponent of a tax cut for working Americans, after not being a proponent of the coronavirus impact payments to Americans, which will begin via direct deposit late this week or early next.
"He's a brilliant man in so many ways, and I agree that the payroll tax cut would be fabulous," Trump told Fox News' "Hannity" on Tuesday night. "I'd like to have the payroll tax cut regardless of this problem that just arose recently.
"So, we're looking at payroll tax; that would be almost immediate and it would be a little bit of an extended period, which is a good thing. It would be very quick."
Trump also promoted a large infrastructure plan in Phase 4, particularly with zero or near zero interest rates right now. He has said he would not back Green New Deal-like infrastructure programs, though.
"We are paying zero interest, this would be a great time to do infrastructure when you're paying just about zero interest rate," Trump said. "We never had anything like this and probably won't have another chance."
With the Senate and House both on recess in April, a Phase 4 bill would not be passed until at least May, but Democrats are hoping to move more quickly, according to The Hill.
"We're focused on seeing how implementation goes and taking stock of the epidemic," a senior GOP aide told The Hill. "The peaks of infection are coming down because of social distancing and the effectiveness of the quarantines.
"We're taking stock of what's actually needed. This isn't a [House Majority Whip James] Clyburn [D-Md.] moment to take advantage of a crisis."
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