Analysis: Bush tax plan would add 50 percent to federal debt

By Joseph Lawler, Joseph Lawler

Published December 20, 2015

Jeb Bush's plans for tax cuts would add 50 percent to the federal debt over a decade, according to an analysis published Tuesday by an influential Washington research organization.

The Tax Policy Center, a nonprofit think tank, estimated that the former Florida governor would cut taxes for everyone, including by an average of $800,000 for the top 0.1 percent of earners, if he succeeds in his Republican presidential bid.

Bush's plan is to lower individual and corporate tax rates and make up some of the lost revenue by eliminating loopholes, credits and other tax breaks. But the revenue-raising provisions would fall far short of making up the difference, by $6.8 trillion over 10 years, according to the Tax Policy Center. Including interest costs on the new debt, that would amount to more like $8 trillion. The current debt is $18.8 trillion.

"If you were thinking about designing a plan that would embody all of the supply-side elements you could imagine, this plans embodies that pretty well," said Len Burman, an analyst at the Tax Policy Center.