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. 

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 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.
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 igher payroll taxes reduce employment opportunities.
XA
 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. 
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 aid 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 Heather Higgins Tammy Bruce

President Chief Executive Officer President
Independent Women’s Forum Independent Women’s Voice Independent Women’s Voice

Grover Norquist Ramesh Ponnuru Tim Chapman

President Visiting Fellow Executive Director
Americans for Tax Reform American Enterprise Institute Heritage Action for America

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