President Trump confirmed Tuesday that he’s considering a cut in payroll taxes to spur more growth, as he called on the Federal Reserve again to cut interest rates and chided the media for rooting for a recession.
“Payroll taxes is something I have been thinking about,” Mr. Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. “Many people would like to see that.”
He said he would also “love” to index capital gains for inflation, a move which would reduce taxes for wealthier individuals.
The president again criticized the Federal Reserve for not cutting interest rates deeper, saying the central bank should cut rates by at least 1 percentage point “over a period of time.”
“If the Fed would do its job, we’d have a tremendous spurt of growth,” the president said. “We’re looking for a rate cut.”
The Fed cut a key lending rate by one-quarter point last month, its first rate cut since 2008. The president has criticized the central bank and Chairman Jerome Powell repeatedly for raising rates four times in 2018, saying it prevented the economy from growing faster.
The president also blamed the media “would love to see a recession” as his reelection approaches next year.
The White House said Monday that a cut of payroll taxes was “not on the table.” But some officials and outside advisers say such a move is under discussion.
Workers pay a 6.2% payroll tax to fund Social Security programs. Employees pay the tax on income up to $132,900.
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