CBO: GOP’s Payroll Tax Proposal Would Add $192 Billion To Deficit

Speaker John Boehner and House Republicans introduced a payroll tax proposal that would add $192 billion to the deficit between 2012-2021 according to a government analysis. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said that the “Middle Class Tax Relief & Job Creation Act” introduced by Bohener would “change revenues and direct spending to produce increases in the deficit of $166.8 billion in fiscal year 2012 and $25.3 billion over the 2012-2021 period.”

The Boehner bill includes a provision to allow creation of the Keystone XL energy pipeline, a provision President Obama said would case a veto of any payroll tax extension bill. The White House and Democrats have counter proposed a payroll tax extension that would be paid for via a surcharge on millionaires and billionaires, something Republicans have refused to wholeheartedly support.

Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi described Boehner’s bill as “pointless” because it would not be able to pass in the Senate, where Democrats have the majority.