White House folds on payroll tax cut again — concedes it won't be in the next stimulus

On Thursday, CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju reported that the White House has given up on including a payroll tax cut in the next round of coronavirus stimulus — but still hopes it will be included in a future round of legislation.

Senate Republicans reportedly were split on the payroll tax cut. This marks the second time the White House has been rebuffed on this policy, as they tried to get it into the previous round as well, only to meet the same skepticism.

Payroll tax cuts have been used to ease previous economic crises, including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed under President Barack Obama after the financial crisis of 2008. However, their usefulness is limited because in severe recessions, many people are out of work and don't have income being taxed in the first place. For this reason, the previous round of coronavirus stimulus sent out direct $1,200 checks to each household and expanded unemployment benefits by $600 a week.