Report: Republican budget could allow trillion-dollar tax cut

Senate Republicans are weighing a budget proposal that would make room for as much as $1.5 trillion in tax cuts, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

A final decision on the matter hasn’t been reached, and lawmakers are still discussing budget proposals.

By writing such tax cuts into the budget, Republicans would be spared, for the most part, from having to choose which tax breaks to get rid of in order to pay for the cuts.

Republicans have argued that such a tax plan would spur economic growth and reduce the overall impact of the cuts on the deficit, according to the Journal, which also notes that they may need to allow some of the cuts to expire after 10 years.

{mosads}Passing a budget is crucial for Republicans to fulfill their pledge to overhaul the nation’s tax code. The budget would set the allowed size of any tax cut.

And if the House and Senate reach an agreement on the budget, lawmakers could use the reconciliation process, which would mean the Senate could pass a tax bill with a simple majority vote. 

Still, a $1.5 trillion tax cut would not be revenue neutral, the Journal reported. Some Republicans have called for a tax plan that would pay for itself in 10 years, meaning that any cuts would have to be offset by ending some tax breaks.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who sits on the Budget Committee, told the Journal that he has been pushing for a $2 trillion tax cut, which he argues would increase growth and, by extension, raise revenue.