Republicans can't pay for their tax cuts with fantasy revenue sources
Scott Lincicome is vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute.
In the spring of 2025, Washington is again engaged in a favorite bipartisan pastime: magical thinking.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed a sprawling tax proposal — affectionately (and cringingly) dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill — offering trillions in tax relief over the next decade, mainly by extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Unlike in 2017, however, there's a twist: White House officials are selling the bill to deficit-wary holdouts in Congress by claiming that President Donald Trump's new tariffs will provide a steady stream of federal revenue to offset much of the OBBB's estimated 10-year cost.
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