In Opposition to A New Payroll Tax and Paid Leave Entitlement Program
April 1, 2019
Dear Senators and Members of Congress,
Everyone wants workers to be able to take time off from work when they need it.
Thanks to an improving economy, employers are increasingly offering paid leave benefits to employees, including hourly workers. This is great news, and a trend that we want to continue. However, imposing a payroll tax on workers and creating a one-size-fits-all government entitlement program would be the wrong way to expand access to paid leave benefits.
- A new payroll tax would leave all workers with less money in every paycheck. This would particularly burden lower-income workers, making it harder for them to make ends meet and save for retirement and other critical needs.
- Higher payroll taxes reduce employment opportunities.
- A one-size-fits-all federal benefit will discourage companies from offering their own paid leave benefits. Some employees would end up with less flexibility and worse paid leave benefits as a result.
- Paid leave entitlement programs tend to benefit those with higher incomes and burden those with lower incomes. Research has found this to be the case with paid leave programs enacted in California, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Canada, Norway, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Iceland, and Belgium. This isn’t fair.
We the undersigned, representing millions of American workers, oppose a new payroll tax and federal paid leave entitlement program because we want to preserve opportunity, flexibility, and fairness.
Sincerely,
Carrie Lukas
President
Independent Women’s Forum
Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform
Heather Higgins
Chief Executive Officer
Independent Women’s Voice
Ramesh Ponnuru
Visiting Fellow
American Enterprise Institute
Tammy Bruce
President
Independent Women’s Voice
Tim Chapman
Executive Director
Heritage Action for America
Lisa B. Nelson
Chief Executive Officer
American Legislative Exchange Council
Frayda Levin
Former Small Business Owner
Jason Pye
Vice President of Legislative Affairs
FreedomWorks
Christina Sandefur
Executive Vice President
Goldwater Institute
Jenny Beth Martin
Honorary Chairman
Tea Party Patriots Action
Bob Carlstrom
President
The Carlstrom Group, LLC
Katie McAuliffe
Executive Director
Digital Liberty
Elizabeth Nolan Brown
President
Feminists for Liberty
Cliff Maloney
President
Young Americans for Liberty
Penny Nance
CEO and President
Concerned Women for America
Rebekah Bydlak
Executive Director
Coalition to Reduce Spending
Matthew Kandrach
President
Consumer Action for a Strong Economy
Pete Sapp
President
National Taxpayers Union
Ryan Ellis
President
Center for a Free Economy
James L. Martin
Founder/Chairman
60 Plus Association
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis
President
60 Plus Association
Rick Manning
President
Americans for Limited Government
Andrew Langer
President
Institute for Liberty
Karen Kerrigan
President & CEO
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
Andrew F. Quinlan
President
Center for Freedom and Prosperity
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Phil Kerpen
President
American Commitment
Kat Murti
Executive Director
Feminists for Liberty
Tom Giovanetti
President
Institute for Policy Innovation
Maureen Blum
President
Strategic Coalitions & Initiatives
Jeffrey Mazzella
President
Center for Individual Freedom
Janet Morana
Executive Director
Priests for Life
Becki Gray
Senior Vice President
John Locke Foundation