Think Tank: Tax Cut Extension Could Cost Treasury $1 Trillion

Washington (May 28, 2003) -- The new tax cut bill approved by the House and Senate is mostly a hodgepodge of expiring provisions the Bush Administration hopes to extend -- and could wind up costing more than $1.06 trillion over the next decade, according to the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities.

Blasting the new measure as containing "unprecedented use of budget gimmicks" CBPP president Robert Greenstein warned that the legislation mostly benefits the rich and could seriously impact the economy.

Depending on the provisions, extension could cost between $807 billion and $1.06 trillion, "well beyond the cost of the administration's plan itself," Greenstein told CCH Tax News. The Act is estimated to cost about $350 billion over 10 years, but the White House has indicated that it wants to extend the expiring provisions in future years. Only the top-bracket rate cuts are not set to expire early, according to a CBPP report released on the same day as the briefing.

A summary of the report is available on the CBPP's website at http://www.cbpp.org/5-22-03tax.htm, and the full report (seven pages) is available at http://www.cbpp.org/5-22-03tax.pdf.

-- WebCPA staff

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