NEW YORK - Paychecks will be a bit smaller this year, with workers?? payroll taxes increasing from 4.2% to 6.2%, CNN Money reports.

The rate of workers?? payroll taxes, which help finance Social Security, had been 4.2% for the past two years. As of January 1, the rate increased to 6.2% on the first $113,700 in wages. For workers earning the national average salary of $41,000, the increase translates to a $32 reduction in take-home pay on every biweekly paycheck.

New York store owner Deborah Koenigsberger said she hasn??t yet broken the news to her employee, a college student. "It's going to hurt me to tell her this. She can't afford a decrease," Koenigsberger said.

Smartphone app developer Keval Mehta, CEO of In-R-Food, expressed concern that the tax increase would threaten morale. "They don't get paid enough for what they do," Mehta said.

"Currently, they're working on passion. But that can only drive you so much," Mehta said. "I don't like that I don't have control over this. It wasn't a decision I made. But as a CEO, you take responsibility for everything. You're automatically at fault, because you're the captain of the ship."