February 12, 2025
The Honorable Jodey Arrington
Chairman
House Budget Committee
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Brendan Boyle
Ranking Member
House Budget Committee
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Re: National Taxpayers Union’s View on House Budget Committee Markup on February 13, 2025
Dear Chairman Arrington, Ranking Member Boyle, and Members of the House Budget Committee:
On behalf of National Taxpayers Union (NTU), the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, I write to express our views on the markup of the concurrent resolution on the budget for Fiscal Year 2025.
I. Summary
This year brings tremendous opportunities and risks for ensuring a prosperous future for taxpayers in America. President Donald Trump ran on an economic agenda centered around growth and opportunity, while ensuring the nation’s financial stability. NTU believes that these goals should be appropriately balanced using a set of three principles; extending President Trump’s tax cuts, maximizing offsets, and seeking further spending cuts in appropriations.
II. Responsibly Extend President Trump’s Tax Cuts
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, or TCJA, is one of the most prominent legislative victories from President Trump’s first term. Around 80% of American taxpayers received a tax cut under the TCJA, with an average tax savings of over $2,100. TCJA enactment led to a roaring economy, grew wages, reduced unemployment, lowered tax code complexity, flatlined corporate inversions, and increased corporate investment in the economy. Some of the most critical changes include ending duplicative taxation of U.S. businesses operating overseas, lowering the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, full expensing for capital investment, simplification and reduction of individual tax burdens, and tax relief for pass-through businesses.
Many of these provisions are expiring at the end of the current calendar year. Some have already expired. Therefore, it is critical to extend this tax relief for families and businesses. The current budget framework provides the Committee on Ways and Means with $4.5 trillion to lock in TCJA permanence. Based on current estimates that suggest the cost of TCJA permanency is approximately $4.7 trillion, the $4.5 trillion figure will require more than a simple extension of TCJA. It also requires reducing and eliminating unnecessary tax provisions and tax expenditures—a process critical to true tax reform efforts. Additionally, the Ways & Means Committee can and should reduce outlays in programs subject to its jurisdiction. NTU is prepared to offer recommendations to the Committee on how to achieve these important goals. For instance, repealing the alternative energy tax provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act would create approximately $1 trillion in offsets that could be applied to reaching the reconciliation instructions.
III. Maximize Spending Reductions, Minimize Debt Growth
In addition to creating space to reform the tax code and eliminate unnecessary tax provisions in the code, the budget should set ambitious yet achievable goals for spending reductions wherever possible. The House concurrent budget instructs ten authorizing committees to cut more than $1.2 trillion in spending as part of the reconciliation package—a critical goal at a time of skyrocketing debt and deficits. NTU stands prepared to offer recommendations to these committees that would meet or exceed their targets. There should be no sacred cows during this process. All spending that can be addressed through reconciliation—even spending in popular programs and agencies—should be subject to strict scrutiny during the process.
IV. Reconciliation Should Be Just the Beginning
Reconciliation can be a valuable tool for restoring our nation’s fiscal health, but its scope is limited. Congress must also drive down other spending outside of the reconciliation process. That should include discretionary spending, which should be capped and reduced through a properly functioning appropriations process. It should also include reasonable reforms to programs like Social Security to preserve the program’s fiscal condition while protecting taxpayers from a costly bailout. We must not run $2 trillion deficits in perpetuity.
V. Conclusion
NTU is pleased to see a budget resolution that paves the way for an extension of TCJA and some serious debt reduction measures. This is the start of a process that could greatly benefit taxpayers by providing tax relief and improving our nation’s fiscal health.
Sincerely,
National Taxpayers Union
122 C St NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20001