CBO Didn’t Say Tax Cuts Were ‘Virtually Paid For’

The chief economic adviser to President Donald Trump recently said Congressional Budget Office numbers show the “entire $1.5 trillion tax cut is virtually paid for by higher revenues and better nominal GDP.” That’s not what the numbers show, experts told us.

In April, the CBO’s nonpartisan budget analysts that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, factoring in all economic effects, would still add nearly $1.9 trillion to the total deficit between 2018 and 2028. The law would increase the primary deficit by $1.3 trillion and raise debt-service costs by roughly $600 billion, CBO said.