Obama Signs Extension of Payroll Tax Cut, White House Says

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama signed into law legislation extending a temporary payroll tax cut and continuing expanded unemployment benefits through the end of the year.

The measure also will avoid a cut in doctors’ Medicare reimbursements. All three provisions were set to expire at the end of this month. The House and Senate passed the legislation Feb. 17.

The two-percentage-point reduction in the payroll tax for workers will mean an extra $40 per paycheck for a typical worker, according to the White House. Obama has said the extension will help sustain the recovery by bolstering consumer spending, which makes up 70 percent of the U.S. economy.

--Editors: Joe Sobczyk, Jim Rubin.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Dorning in Washington at mdorning@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steven Komarow at skomarow1@bloomberg.net