A new congressional estimate could upend President Donald Trump's tax plan even before he releases it.
Trump is scheduled to unveil the broad outlines of a tax overhaul tomorrow that includes a massive cut in the corporate income tax, reducing the top rate from 35 per cent to 15 per cent.
The official scorekeeper for Congress said today that a big cut in corporate taxes - even if it is temporary - would add to long-term budget deficits. This is a problem for Republicans because it means they would need Democratic support in the Senate to pass a tax overhaul.
Democrats mused that Republican lawmakers who slammed the growing national debt under President Barack Obama are now being asked to embrace a tax plan that could add trillions of government red ink over the next decade. Democrats say they smell hypocrisy.
"I'm particularly struck by how some of this seems to be turning on its head Republican economic theory," said Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.
Senator Bob Casey, D-Pa, said, "On a lot of fronts, both the administration and Republicans have been contradictory, to say the least."
"There's no question we should try to reduce (the corporate tax rate), but I don't see how you pay for getting it down that low," Casey said. "Fifteen per cent, that's a huge hole if you can't make the math work."
Last week, House Speaker Paul Ryan asked the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation to analyze the budget effects of a temporary cut in the corporate tax rate, to 20 per cent, that would expire after three years.
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