For Trump and Republicans in Congress, 'everything is in play' on tax cuts [View all]
Economic Policy
For Trump and Republicans in Congress, everything is in play on tax cuts
If President-elect Donald Trump takes office with a unified GOP Congress, lawmakers are prepared to move fast.
By Jacob Bogage
November 7, 2024 at 8:12 a.m. EST
President-elect Donald Trump is poised to push swiftly for new tax cuts if Republicans win full control of Congress, further slashing corporate rates and extending trillions of dollars of other cuts even as the national debt soars. ... Major portions of Trumps 2017 tax law are set to expire next year, and Republicans are aiming to give Trump a major legislative accomplishment within his first 100 days in office.
The GOP won control of the Senate in Tuesdays elections. While control of the House is still uncertain, Republicans are optimistic that results are trending toward maintaining their narrow majority. ... As party leaders discuss their plans for the early days of a new Trump administration, the attitude thats emerged on taxes is, Just go, according to a top conservative lobbyist familiar with the discussions, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private talks. Rip the Band-Aid and run and just plow it through.
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Trumps plans come with a hefty price tag: The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget projects that the tax cuts could add $9.15 trillion over the next decade to the national debt, which already sits near $36 trillion.
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Trump has also called for eliminating the cap on the state and local tax deduction, or SALT, which Republicans used to offset some of the cost of the 2017 tax law. Unless Congress acts, that cap $10,000 for both single and married filers will expire in 2025. That could add an additional $1.2 trillion to the cost of a Trump tax bill, according to CRFB.
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Julie Zauzmer Weil contributed to this report.
By Jacob Bogage
Jacob Bogage covers economic policy in Congress for The Washington Post, where he's worked since 2015. He previously covered business and technology and wrote for the Sports section.follow on X @jacobbogage