The Taxpayer Relief Act Bill might have kept the country from going over the so-called “fiscal cliff,” but not all of its changes will be good for Bryan-College Station.
Bryan’s Chief Financial Officer Joe Hegwood says the change in the employee portion of social security tax withholding will leave workers with less money to spend.
He says several years ago, the rate was dropped from 6.2 down to 4.2, but with this legislation, it’s going back up again and making workers’ spendable salaries go down by two percent.
He says it’s difficult to predict the full impact at this point, but it will definitely have a dampening effect.
On the other hand, he says BCS has several positives on its side, including almost 4,000 building permits in 2012, for about $115 million of construction.
Hegwood says the city does not keep information on income levels of citizens, so it’s difficult to estimate what percentage of BCS will be directly affected by the new tax rates.
Joe Hegwood visits with WTAW’s Kat McMullen