EXECUTIVE ORDERS/TAXES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “At his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., Trump announced he was postponing payroll taxes through the end of the year, extending the unemployment ‘bonus’ at $400 a week (down from $600), helping people ‘stay in their homes’ and waiving student debt payments through the end of 2020…
He is ordering a payroll tax deferral, not a cut, meaning the taxes won’t be collected for a while but they will still be due at a later date. On housing, he instructs key officials to ‘consider’ whether there should be a ban on evictions. He also insists that state governments pick up the tab for some of the unemployment aid.
It is likely Trump will face a legal challenge over these actions. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse. Any changes to taxes or spending are supposed to come from Congress.”
-Heather Long, “Here’s what is actually in Trump’s four executive orders,” washingtonpost.com, Aug. 9, 2020