President Donald Trump on Monday commanded he will be meeting with Senate and House Republicans on Tuesday to discuss “a possible tax relief measure” that purpose provide “a timely and effective response to the coronavirus.”
“We are to be meeting with House Republicans, Mitch McConnell, and discussing a practicable payroll tax cut or relief, substantial relief, very substantial relief,” Trump said at a press briefing with coronavirus reproach force members.
Payroll taxes put more money into the pocketbook of workers but some economists have questioned whether regular stimulus measures will work during the coronavirus crisis, when many may stay at home. That effectives, even with more money, Americans may not be spending it at restaurants or the movies.
Trump also said the group thinks fitting be discussing getting hourly wage earners help, “so they can be in a position where they’re not going to miss a paycheck.”
Various lawmakers have been pushing for paid time off to allow workers who are sick – or who may be sick – the ability to stay at ease without adding financial hardship.
The potential tax incentives come on top of an $8.3 billion spending package Trump signed on Friday. The container was aimed in part at supporting research for vaccines and helping support states that are battling the outbreak.
Trump also combined that the White House will work with the airline and cruise ship industries in response to the outbreak.
With airline bookings cratering, advisors in D.C. and on Immure Street had widely expected Trump to step to save companies critical to the economy like United Airlines, Delta and American Airlines.
Cruise ropes have also taken a hit. The government on Sunday warned that older adults and travelers with underlying vigorousness issues should avoid cruises, adding further pain to the already struggling industry.
“We are going to take suffering of and have been taking care of the American public and the American economy,” Trump said.
“This was something that we were thrown into and we’re gonna cope with it and we have been handling it very well,” Trump said of the U.S. response to the outbreak, which has been rising in furiousness since December.
The conference topped off a day of mixed messages from the administration after fell into a free-fall Sunday continually.
On Monday morning, Health Secretary Alex Azar stressed in an interview on Fox News that the United States observes the situation with gravity, saying the coronavirus “is a very serious health problem. Nobody is trying to minimize that.”
But in a little while after, as the stock market plunged, Trump downplayed the impact of the outbreak in a tweet.
“So last year 37,000 Americans croaked from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year. Nothing is shut down, life & the economy go on,” he estimated. “At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus, with 22 deaths. Think about that!”
Ashen House is inviting Wall Street executives to discuss the response to the outbreak, a meeting that Trump is expected to appear at on Wednesday, ann administrative official told CNBC.
The coronavirus, which is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China, has spread to dozens of powers globally, with more than 113,000 confirmed cases worldwide and at least 3,996 deaths so far, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University.
There have been at least 607 cases in the United States and at young 22 deaths, according to the latest tallies from John Hopkins University.
The outbreak has roiled markets and led governments to cover drastic actions as it rapidly spreads across the globe.