WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner says any extension of this year’s payroll tax cut must be paid for with savings from elsewhere in the budget.
The Ohio Republican told reporters on Wednesday that lawmakers will continue trying to find common ground with President Barack Obama on ways to create jobs. But he stopped short of saying he favored extending this year’s 2 percent reduction in the 6.2 percent payroll tax, or enlarging it, as Obama and many Democrats want.
The tax cut is due to expire Jan. 1.
Senate Democrats have proposed extending the reduction for another year and making it larger, and paying for it with a 3.25 percent surcharge on incomes exceeding $1 million. That bill faces certain Senate defeat, thanks to a solid wall of GOP opposition.
