Tax Writers Are Forced Into Tough Choices as Budget Plan Forms

Tax writers are facing the tall order of choosing between hundreds of tax cuts and credits to add into their signature budget bill this year if both chambers agree to Senate Republicans’ proposed top line.

The Senate in the coming days will likely approve a budget blueprint that fast-tracks $1.5 trillion in tax cuts or credits on top of a straight extension of the 2017 tax law, creating a ceiling for pet policies from the White House and Congress to include. Even if Republicans successfully deploy the “current policy” calculation method that minimizes the legislation’s perceived cost, the tax breaks ...