Some GOP senators and outside conservative groups are raising concerns about the potential inclusion of a “trigger” in the Senate tax bill if the measure fails to meet economic growth projections.
GOP deficit hawks in the Senate have been pushing for a backstop that would scale back tax cuts if they add more to the deficit than Republicans expect. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Tuesday that he has reached an agreement with leadership to include a trigger in the bill, though he did not provide any details about the provision.
{mosads}
But others are wary of automatic tax increases.
“Right now, my feeling about it is that I’d rather drink weed killer than vote for the thing,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters, though he added that he’s willing to keep an open mind.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) also said he’d prefer a trigger not be included.
“I’m not very excited about having any automatic raises in taxes,” he said. “I think if your economy is slowing down, that’s a terrible time to raise taxes.”
But Paul, who came out in support of the current version of the bill on Monday, added that the inclusion of a backstop probably wouldn’t ultimately cost him his vote on the overall measure.
Both Paul and Kennedy expressed some interest in an idea floated by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Cruz suggested including a provision that automatically cuts taxes further if economic growth is more robust than projected, in addition to a trigger that increases taxes if economic growth is slower than anticipated.
A number of activists with right-leaning groups are also pushing back against the trigger concept.
Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist said in a statement: “No one invests in response to ‘maybe.’ A trigger that threatens tax hikes is a self-fulfilling threat to kill jobs.”
Brent Gardner, chief government affairs officer at Americans for Prosperity, said a trigger provision “would add unnecessary complexity and uncertainty into the tax code, stifle the economy and generate less revenue.”