The tax hikes with which House Democrats plan to offset the costs of their infrastructure and social welfare legislation would raise enough revenue for at least a $1.5 trillion plan, according to an estimate released on Thursday from official congressional scorekeepers.
The plan would generate $813 billion from changes to the corporate and international tax code and about $250 billion from a surtax on those earning more than $10 million per year, in addition to a litany of other provisions, according to an analysis released by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation.
“These are historic policy achievements in and of themselves — and they also pay for transformational investments that will improve the lives of American workers, our children, and the generations that will follow,” the Treasury Department said after the JCT analysis was released.
While the revenue-raising provisions are not final and some include items that might be modified in the Senate (such as deductions for state and local taxes paid), the plan shows a path forward for Democrats, who are working overtime to pass their legislation.
DEMOCRATIC TAX HIKES WOULD RAISE $768 BILLION, SHORT OF BIDEN BILL COST: TAX FOUNDATION
There are also some proposals that were not included in the JCT’s analysis of the legislation, chief among them the plan to massively boost Internal Revenue Service funding. Democrats claim that bolstering the IRS will net some $400 billion over the next decade.
Changes are expected for the plan given that Democrats have an even tighter margin in the Senate and must come to an agreement that will not lose a single member’s vote.
The House plan, which was the one scored on Thursday, includes a provision that would raise the $10,000 SALT cap to $72,500 across the board. That change would cost the U.S. more than $200 billion in the first few years, with the tax cuts mostly benefiting high-income earners.
On the Senate side, Sen. Bernie Sanders pitched a different SALT plan . His compromise would restore the SALT deduction only for people earning less than $400,000, a move that Sanders, a Vermont socialist, said was designed to “make sure the wealthy do not get a tax break.” He also claims that the change would be budget-neutral.
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Democrats have been struggling toward a final piece of legislation that would garner all 50 votes in the Senate, although some centrists in the party have caused them to pare back their original plan, which was expected to come in at $3.5 trillion.
