President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress last Thursday evening to present a jobs bill containing an expansion of the payroll tax cut, tax breaks for new hires and salary raises and other tax reform measures.
The $447 billion bill, known as the American Jobs Act, contains provisions for creating new jobs to build and repair infrastructure such as highway and roads, along with school construction and an extension of unemployment benefits. In addition, Obama outlined a series of measures, including tax breaks to encourage companies to hire the long-term unemployed, along with veterans. He also called for an extension of the payroll tax cut for employees and an expansion of the tax cut to small business employers. Obama repeatedly emphasized that the bill contained many tax proposals that had originated with Republicans.
