Saturday, February 23, 2013

Obama's Payroll Tax: Less take home pay means less spending

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Thursday joined a parade of retailers, restaurants and consumer-goods companies worried about the economic impact of the recently restored federal payroll tax that has left Americans with less money to spend. 
The world's largest retailer, Burger King Worldwide Inc., Kraft Foods Group Inc. and others are lowering forecasts and adjusting sales and marketing strategies, expecting consumers with smaller paychecks to dine out less and trade down to less expensive purchases. 
The expiration of the payroll tax cuts that knocked 2% off consumers' take-home pay is having an impact, these companies say. It will ding a household with $65,000 in annual income $1,300 this year, and shift $110 billion overall out of consumers' hands, estimates Citigroup.
[...]
Less take-home pay is causing 45.7% of consumers to curtail spending, according to a survey released on Thursday by the National Retail Federation, a trade group. A quarter of consumers are delaying big-ticket purchases, a third are reducing restaurant visits, and about a fifth of shoppers are spending less on groceries, it said.
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think higher gas prices are part of this problem, too. People cut back more when they have to pay more to go places.

AZ

Anonymous said...

Payroll taxes and gas is freezing people in their homes and taking food off their table and got them begging for healthcare. All started with the gas!!! Now the payroll tax!! OMG, we are heading for a deep recession. Watch the stores close, one by one, more lay offs. Homes are being lost daily, this is horrific. What is congress doing, they dont care.