LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Most of us, if not all of us, wouldn’t be opposed to a bigger paycheck.
That’s just what President Donald Trump offered to Americans starting September 1 until the end of the year.
The extra cash comes with the option of deferring the payroll tax for social security which is 6.2% paid each by the employee as well as the employer.
The bonus, however, comes with a price.
Defer now, but pay it all back next year in the first four months of 2021.
“When they start taking money out, your going to have to pay 12.4%,” Arnold Scott said.
If it’s not paid in full by May 1, penalties and interest will accrue.
FOCUS reached out to Scott because he is a national Vice President with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which is the union representing 1.2 million federal workers.
Although businesses in the private sector could opt in or opt out of the deferment, with employees making less than $4000 bi-weekly, federal workers and active military could not.
“Trump is forcing federal workers and the members of the armed forces to be guinea pigs,” Scott said.
While AFGE is pleading with the administration to reverse course, Scott says the union is trying to warn as many members as they can that this is not a gift.
“It is not free,” Scott said. “You need to take that money, set it aside, put it in another account because you’re going to have to pay that back.”
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.