With debt debate finished, House GOP unveils new bills to cut taxes - The Washington Post

Roughly a week after Congress approved a measure to slash federal spending and suspend the debt ceiling, House Republicans on Friday unveiled a sprawling set of proposals that aim to cut taxes for businesses and families.

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Republicans laid out their agenda in a trio of bills introduced by Rep. Jason T. Smith (R-Mo.), the leader of the tax-focused House Ways and Means Committee, whose panel is set to consider the measures as soon as next week. Democrats already have panned the GOP blueprint, foreshadowing its likely death in the Senate even if it advances out of the narrowly divided House.

The first measure temporarily would revive a set of tax breaks chiefly targeting companies’ research spending, interest expenses and equipment purchases.

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As part of that bill, Republicans also proposed to rethink key climate programs that Democrats secured last year in the Inflation Reduction Act in a bid to fight climate change. The proposal would introduce new limits on tax credits meant to help Americans purchase electric vehicles, while prohibiting purchasers from applying the federal aid toward used vehicles. Republicans also would revoke tax credits to boost clean energy production and clean electricity investment, and they would terminate the new tax imposed on toxic chemical dumping sites.

In a second measure, Republicans would allow American families that earn less than $400,000 annually to claim a larger standard deduction for the next two years.

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A third bill — largely targeting small businesses — would repeal a requirement that taxpayers report to the government any transactions above $600 occurring on services like Venmo.

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In reviewing the legislation, the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the three GOP bills together would add about $21 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years. But some budget experts said that figure tells only part of the story, since Republicans relied on a series of timing and accounting maneuvers to create the impression of a low price tag.

For one thing, the three bills extend Trump-era tax breaks targeting businesses only through 2025, even though Republicans have said they hope to make them permanent. During that period, the GOP plans actually add about $300 billion to the federal deficit, much of which they offset through the repeal of climate-focused tax credits that aren’t scheduled to take effect until 2027.

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