"Budget Trickery: Accounting Maneuver Could Make Trump Tax Cuts Look Free"
A controversial budget tactic is gaining steam on Capitol Hill that could help make Donald Trump's first-term tax cuts permanent while also making room for additional tax break pledges he made on the campaign trail. The idea is to essentially make the cost of extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act free, at least for accounting purposes, by assessing changes using a so-called current policy baseline. This move would push up the national debt by trillions of additional dollars beyond what's already planned.
- By considering this unorthodox approach, lawmakers are attempting to reconcile competing priorities in Washington, such as the desire to cut taxes and reduce the deficit.
- However, critics argue that this budget trickery obscures the true cost of tax cuts and ignores the long-term fiscal implications, raising questions about the sustainability of such policies.