Politics

House GOP pushes back plans to vote on making individual tax cuts permanent

Key Points
  • Republicans are pushing back plans to vote on a bill to make permanent the temporary provisions in the new tax law, CNBC has learned.
  • Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., who introduced legislation to extend individual tax cuts, said he had hoped for a vote around Tax Day next week.
  • Republicans are worried about the optics of voting for potentially costly new tax cuts shortly after the Congressional Budget Office projected that the national debt will nearly equal the nation's GDP by 2028.
Republicans are pushing back plans to vote on making individual tax cuts permanent
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Republicans are pushing back plans to vote on making individual tax cuts permanent

Republicans are pushing back plans to vote on a bill to make permanent the temporary provisions in the new tax law, CNBC has learned.

Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., who introduced legislation to extend individual tax cuts, said he had hoped for a vote around Tax Day next week. Now the timeline is unclear, but he is speaking with leadership about bringing the bill to the floor.

A person briefed on the process, who spoke to CNBC on the condition of anonymity, said Republicans are worried about the optics of voting for potentially costly new tax cuts shortly after the Congressional Budget Office projected that the national debt will nearly equal the nation's entire economic output by 2028.

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin: We need to see growth from tax cuts to pay for permanent individual tax cuts
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Treasury Secretary Mnuchin: We need to see growth from tax cuts to pay for permanent individual tax cuts

A Penn-Wharton Budget Model analysis released Thursday estimated extending the individual tax cuts would add between $573 billion and $736 billion to the national debt.

The person said any vote on additional cuts may not happen until the summer. Davis said he is open to debating potential offsets for his bill once it is on the floor.

"We need to invest in American families," he said.

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Tax cuts are beginning to pay for themselves, says researcher
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Tax cuts are beginning to pay for themselves, says researcher