Trump appointees shocked to find they owe thousands after payroll tax delay

On Thursday, POLITICO reported that appointees from former President Donald Trump's administration are stuck with big bills after he delayed their payroll taxes as part of an initiative to boost the economy. He promised them that those taxes would later be forgiven — but that never happened, and now they're on the hook for thousands.

"'If the indebtedness is not paid in full within 30 calendar days, we intend to forward this debt to the Department of Treasury, Treasury offset program, for further collection,' reads one letter to a former White House official, demanding she pay $1,500," reported Brian Faler and Daniel Lippman. "That has left some shocked and angry. One former official called her $1,300 bill 'unacceptable,' saying she and her colleagues 'gave our time and effort to this agency and this is how we're getting paid back.' Said another, asked to pay almost $1,200: 'It's just a very unfortunate situation.'"

All of this stems from an executive order Trump signed creating a payroll tax holiday, something he had asked Congress to do but had been rebuffed on.

"In August, he issued an executive order allowing employers to put off paying their workers' share of the 12.4 percent Social Security tax for the rest of the year. The idea was to boost consumer spending by putting more money in the pockets of millions," said the report. "But the initiative was widely rejected by private sector employers, in part because they feared workers would be unprepared to pay the money back. It was mandatory, though, for federal employees making less than $4,000 per biweekly paycheck, and the government began implementing it in September."

Many Trump appointees have been blindsided by the former president's loss. Some had staked their careers on him winning re-election, and found themselves losing their jobs and benefits when it didn't happen.