Republicans consider major budget change to obscure deficit impact of extending Trump's tax cuts

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

Feb. 28, 2025, 5:00 AM EST


WASHINGTON — Republicans are considering a far-reaching change to the budget process that would obscure the deficit impact of extending President Donald Trump’s multitrillion-dollar tax cuts in order to avoid paying for them. It comes as part of a massive bill to advance Trump’s agenda that Republicans are seeking to pass on a party-line basis. If the tactic is successful, it would upend long-standing precedent and change the accounting process for current and future lawmakers, with major policy stakes.

Extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which Trump signed into law in 2017, would cost $4.6 trillion over a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the official nonpartisan scorekeeper. That’s under the “current law” metric that has traditionally been used, as the tax cuts are slated to expire at the end of this year. But Senate Republicans want to use a different scoring method called the “current policy” baseline, which would assume that extending tax cuts costs $0 because they’re already law.

The chair of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, endorsed the “current policy” approach, telling reporters that it “recognizes that extending current law does not change the tax policy, does not reduce tax revenue.”

Congressional GOP aides say the idea could have a huge impact on what they’re able to pass in the budget bill. If they use the current accounting process, they have no chance of making the 2017 tax cuts permanent, because that would require paying for it. And this process would also be key to unlocking Trump’s other tax proposals, like slashing taxes on tips and overtime pay. It’s a tacit admission that Republican leaders have no expectation of paying for the cost of their tax agenda.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-budget-change-deficit-impact-trump-tax-cuts-rcna194015

---

It’s a tacit admission that Republican leaders have no expectation of paying for the cost of their tax agenda.

Of course not.

[underpants]

1. Accounting tricks - that's what was found guilty if in NY.

[angrychair]

2. To be clear

If you just throw a rug over a pile of dog shit, it doesn't actually make it disappear and you can still smell it.
(In this scenario the "smell" is the fact that we will still feel the impact of the deficits on our economy)

[Mr.Bee]

3. Why Are We Rewarding These Greedy Billionaires?

What have they done for America and what have they given us?
FoxNews? Windows? Apple? Facebook? Twitter?
What have all these 'must-have' devices and their softwares and platforms done for this country except make us decisive, hate, angry, and secluded, while stealing our personal data and buying histories?
Why do we continue rewarding this bad behavior while they buy politicians to write laws in their favor?
I just don't get it. I would have thought Americans would have woken up to this grift during the nineteen nineties!

[Puppyjive]

4. Trump can't win either way

My husband ran the numbers If the tax cuts do not continue. It will affect middle class and the rich. Our taxes will go up $5000.00 a year. If he guts the safety nets, then we won't pay the increased taxes, but then the most vulnerable will suffer. They are in a no win situation. Every person will be affected no matter what he does.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Before Congress flipped

Democrats had drafted legislation to extend the "middle class" portion of that tax cuts and drastically modify the upper income cuts as a replacement for when that law expired. Unfortunately, that couldn't get passed (but they do still have the legislative markups for the day we can take control).

There have already been some modifications to it including the imposition of a 15% CMT (Corporate Minimum Tax) for businesses with worth of $1 billion and higher, that was rolled into the Inflation Reduction Act -

H.R.5376 - Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

(snip)

PART 1--CORPORATE TAX REFORM

SEC. 10101. CORPORATE ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX.

(a) Imposition of Tax.--
(1) In general.--Paragraph (2) of section 55(b) is amended to read as follows:
``(2) Corporations.--
``(A) Applicable corporations.--In the case of an
applicable corporation, the tentative minimum tax for
the taxable year shall be the excess of--
``(i) 15 percent of the adjusted financial
statement income for the taxable year (as
determined under section 56A), over
``(ii) the corporate AMT foreign tax credit
for the taxable year.
``(B) Other corporations.--In the case of any
corporation which is not an applicable corporation, the
tentative minimum tax for the taxable year shall be
zero.''.
(2) Applicable corporation.--Section 59 is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:

``(k) Applicable Corporation.--For
purposes of this part--
``(1) Applicable corporation defined.--
``(A) In general.--The term `applicable corporation'
means, with respect to any taxable year, any corporation
(other than an S corporation, a regulated investment
company, or a real estate investment trust) which meets
the

[[Page 136 STAT. 1819]]

average annual adjusted financial statement income test
of subparagraph (B) for one or more taxable years
which--
``(i) are prior to such taxable year, and
``(ii) end after
December 31, 2021.
``(B) Average annual
adjusted financial statement income test.--For purposes
of this subsection--
``(i) a corporation meets the average annual
adjusted financial statement income test for a
taxable year if the average annual adjusted
financial statement income of such corporation
(determined without regard to section 56A(d)) for
the 3-taxable-year period ending with such taxable
year exceeds $1,000,000,000, and
``(ii) in the case of a corporation described
in paragraph (2), such corporation meets the
average annual adjusted financial statement income
test for a taxable year if--
``(I) the corporation meets the
requirements of clause (i) for such
taxable year (determined after the
application of paragraph (2)), and
``(II) the average annual adjusted
financial statement income of such
corporation (determined without regard
to the application of paragraph (2) and
without regard to section 56A(d)) for
the 3-taxable-year-period ending with
such taxable year is $100,000,000 or
more.

(snip)

[Puppyjive]

7. Thank you

A lot to take in, but it helps me understand better!

[Raftergirl]

6. It's not going to fool anyone except stoopid MAGA.