Republicans order key panel to score extension of Trump tax cuts as budget neutral
Source: The Hill
06/22/25 4:04 PM ET
Senate Republicans have directed the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) to score the cost of extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts as a continuation of current policy that would not add significantly to federal deficits, which would allow them to make those tax rates permanent.
The joint panel on taxation, which projects the deficit impact of all tax bills, scored the extension of 26 provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as a continuation of “current policy” and therefore budget neutral, which dramatically lowers the projected cost of President Trump’s megabill.
In a score released Saturday, the JCT projects tax-related provisions of the Republican bill as adding $441.5 billion to the deficit over the next decade, instead of the $4 trillion that Democrats say would be the projected cost of the tax provisions if they were scored on a “current law” baseline. Much of the 2017 tax law, including a reduction in individual income tax rates, is due to expire at the end of 2025.
“Republicans finally showed their hand, and it’s completely dishonest. ‘Current policy baseline’ is a budget gimmick that is nothing more than smoke and mirrors instead of honest accounting. This bill will add trillions upon trillions of dollars to the national debt to fund tax breaks for billionaires — while Republicans want everyone to think it adds zero,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the ranking member of the Budget Committee.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/5363203-senate-republicans-trump-tax-cuts-budget-neutral-jct/
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