An analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation concluded that the U.S. Senate's version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would add an additional $1 trillion to the U.S. fiscal deficit over a 10-year window, even taking into account the added economic growth Republicans project the bill will generate.
The report also indicates that the bill would increase GDP by 0.8% on average over the same 10-year budget period, while congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump have repeatedly touted the greater economic growth that would follow the bill's passage.
A spokesperson for the Senate Finance Committee, which created the framework and legislative text that the Senate is debating, said "the findings of JCT are curious and deserve further scrutiny," calling them "incomplete" since the chamber is still debating the legislation.
House and Senate Democrats have attempted to focus on the shifting priorities of congressional Republicans, who initially supported a deficit-neutral tax plan, but later used a $1.5 trillion Senate budget carve-out to justify their proposals while still complying with Senate budget rules.
"Today, the JCT provided fresh evidence that even under the most generously optimistic economic conditions, tax cuts do not pay for themselves," said Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, in a statement.
