WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump on Wednesday will try to sell the American people on an unpopular Republican tax overhaul that his administration claims will generate a large part of $1.8 trillion in new revenue – a figure that a top Democratic lawmaker dismissed as “fake math.”
Trump’s pitch will focus on how the GOP tax reform plan will lead to a brighter future for taxpayers and their families, according to spokeswoman Lindsay Walters. House and Senate negotiators are rushing to finalize a bill and deliver the measure to Trump before Christmas.
Trump and Republican leaders in Congress have promoted the massive tax plan by promising the tax cuts will boost the economy. Their idea is that growth sparked by the legislation will let the tax cuts pay for themselves and not balloon the $20 trillion deficit.
Public polling shows many Americans are unhappy with the proposal. The House and Senate tax bills combine steep tax cuts for corporations with more modest reductions for individuals.
The administration’s rosy estimate of new revenue from the tax plan over 10 years is a lot higher than nonpartisan congressional analysts have projected. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that growth stimulated by the anticipated tax cuts will generate some $408 billion in additional tax revenue over 10 years.