Warren, Cortez Masto, Warner, Bennet, Welch Seek Answers on Republicans’ “Magic Math” Ahead of Planned Tax Cuts
“[S]ince the full cost of [the tax cuts] was not counted in 2017, it must be accounted for now if Republicans choose to extend the law.”
“The deficit cost of tax cuts is real, even for those who do not like the way the math works... Congress does not get to ignore that same basic math when it comes to funding more tax cuts for the wealthy.”
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) sent a letter to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), which provides Members of Congress with revenue estimates for tax legislation. The lawmakers pressed for answers on the scoring methods used for tax legislation ahead of the expiration of many of the tax provisions contained in President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
Republican claims that extending tax cuts has no impact on the deficit are "magic math,” wrote the lawmakers. “The deficit cost of tax cuts is real, even for those who do not like the way the math works. After hardworking Americans paid their rent in December, they still had to budget for rent in January. Rent is not free because you paid last month’s rent.”
In 2017, Congressional Republicans set many TCJA provisions to expire this year in an attempt to keep the price tag of the proposed tax cuts below $1.5 trillion. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), extending these tax cuts for the next ten years would cost trillions and would disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Americans.
Still, some Senate Republicans claim that the cost of extending the TCJA is $0. To accurately calculate the cost of these tax cut extensions, Congress needs a baseline to measure changes against. By law, that baseline has been the “current law,” which assumes that expiring provisions will expire on schedule and therefore that any extension would cost money. Senate Republicans have suggested that this year’s tax bill should be evaluated based on a “current policy baseline,” which assumes that expiring provisions will not expire and that any extensions of temporary provisions cost nothing.
The lawmakers asked JCT whether it has ever used a “current policy baseline” for official scoring purposes on the Senate floor, among other questions, with a deadline of March 5, 2025.
The letter—the first coordinated push by Senate Democrats in this Congress to set the record straight on Republicans’ “magic math"—follows news of an expected vote in the House on its budget resolution next week. Senate Republicans are set to begin the reconciliation process with a vote tonight.
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