Bill > HR3746

This bill, titled the "Tax Cuts for the Middle Class Act," proposes a temporary reduction in employment and self-employment tax rates for the calendar year 2012, a period referred to as the "payroll tax holiday period." Specifically, it lowers the employee payroll tax rate under section 3101(a) of the Internal Revenue Code to 4.2% and the self-employment tax rate under section 1401(a) to 10.4%. To offset any loss in revenue to crucial social insurance programs, the bill appropriates funds from the U.S. Treasury to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, which are established under the Social Security Act, and to the Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account, established by the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974. The Secretary of the Treasury is also directed to inform employers about this temporary tax reduction.