Republicans are considering a new budgeting approach that would set the costs of extending President Donald Trump's tax cuts at $0, reported NBC News.
The move would change the accounting process for current and future lawmakers to a different scoring method called the "current baseline" policy, which would mean they are not a new cost and would not need to be offset by cuts elsewhere.
Republicans say if they fail to act, the lower tax rates first approved in 2017 will expire, which would amount to a massive tax hike for many Americans. They believe keeping the tax cuts in place will partly pay for themselves, unleashing economic growth and fresh revenues, though others say those projections are optimistic.
Initially approved during Trump's first term, many of the tax cuts were temporary and are expiring later this year. Keeping them would cost $4.5 trillion over the next decade.
And that's not counting the new tax cuts that Trump wants. The president wants to eliminate taxes on tips, which was a signature campaign promise, and has also talked about getting rid of taxes on overtime pay as well as Social Security benefits. Those would add to the price tag.
Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, both Democrats, slammed the idea.
"The Republicans need to realize that 'magic math' does not exist. Tax cuts cost money, even if Republicans say they don't, and the Treasury would still need to borrow trillions of dollars that would explode the deficit," Merkley told NBC News in a statement. "Refusing to measure something doesn't mean it goes away. The earth is still warming even if you get rid of thermometers."
"It's all a big game in order to get more money to the billionaires through their tax breaks," Wyden said.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, told reporters the change "recognizes that extending current law does not change the tax policy, does not reduce tax revenue."
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., also backed the idea.
"We should be using 'current policy.' We need to avoid a massive, automatic tax increase," he said. "That seems like a perfectly rational thing to do, and there shouldn't be a score."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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