Washington, D.C. – President Trump is delivering coal in stockings this holiday season in the form of thousands of dollars of personal tax debt to hundreds of thousands of federal employees and military families. The employee tax debt was created by President Trump when he mandated a so-called deferral of payroll tax withholdings (Social Security and Medicare) from military and federal employee paychecks between October 1 and December 31, 2020. Under existing law, members of the military and federal employees will have to repay the taxes early next year through higher tax withholdings from their paychecks.
The tax deferral effort is part of a failed mass-bribe scheme to get members of the military and federal workers to vote for Trump in the presidential election when upon winning, he stated publicly that he will forgive the tax debt. In a rare move to sustain an election promise, Trump lost the election and consequently now refuses to forgive the tax debt.
All eyes were on the Senate floor today when Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) brought a bill to the floor that would have mandated that the government get permission from employees and military members before continuing with the deferral. Also, it required that the government pay any taxes if it continued to defer without consent. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) objected to the bill effectively killing it without stating a specific reason. Instead, Daines blathered on about COVID relief and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Speaking for Republican leadership, Senator Danes left the involuntary tax debt in the hands of military and federal families in Montana and the rest of the country.
“This is an unbelievable insult to members of the military and to federal workers and their families, especially during the holidays,” stated NFFE President Randy Erwin. “Senate Republicans had the chance to do the very least today which was to give these families the option to limit their tax debt next year. Instead, and without explanation, Republicans blocked it. How heartless Senate Republicans have become. Trump forced this debt on hundreds of thousands of military members and civil servants, and Senate Republicans just shrugged it off.”
“I hope voters in Georgia think about this when their paychecks drop starting January and local economies shrink as a result,” Erwin continued. “Clearly, we need a change in the Senate. Financially hurting and then not caring about military and civil service families should be the last straw for voters.”