Fact Check: Build Back Better Agenda Will Add Zero To The Debt And Will Cut Taxes And Costs For Working And Middle Class Families

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 30, 2021
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FACT CHECK: BUILD BACK BETTER AGENDA WILL ADD ZERO TO THE DEBT AND WILL CUT TAXES AND COSTS FOR WORKING AND MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES

The cost of the Build Back Better Agenda for working and middle class Americans: $0

The Build Back Better Agenda includes working and middle class tax cuts, off-sets, and will be fully paid for by making the ultra-wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share

Comparing gross cost, the Trump 2017 tax cuts for the wealthy cost $2 trillion more than the Build Back Better Agenda, with a gross cost of $5.5 trillion

Washington, D.C. — President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda to lower costs for working families, provide historic tax cuts for the middle class, and make the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share is frequently reported on as a $3.5 trillion bill. However, this gross cost doesn’t reflect the legislation’s tax cuts, off-sets, and the fact that it will be fully paid for by taxing the ultra-wealthy and big corporations.

The fact is that this bill will be paid for by rolling back tax cuts for the wealthy and closing loopholes that allow mega-corporations to get out of paying what they owe. By making the ultra-wealthy and big corporations finally pay their fair share, the Build Back Better Agenda will cost working and middle class families a whopping zero dollars.

Calculating for gross cost, the Trump 2017 tax cuts cost $5.5 trillion, $2 trillion more than the gross cost of the Build Back Better agenda, according to a recent Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analysis. And these tax cuts did nothing to grow our economy long-term, nor did they meaningfully lower costs for everyday Americans.

FACT CHECK: The BBB Agenda Will Be Fully Paid For By Making The Ultra-Wealthy And Big Corporations Pay Their Fair Share And The $3.5 Trillion Figure Is The Gross Investment Over 10 Years Without Offsets.

Center On Budget And Policy Priorities: The widely-reported $3.5 trillion figure for the BBB Agenda “ignores revenue increases and spending reductions” that will be included in the bill.
Wall Street Journal: The Build Back Better Agenda will be paid for with “$1 trillion in tax increases on individuals, $900 billion on corporations, $700 billion from drug-pricing policy changes, and $120 billion from tougher tax enforcement. Adding miscellaneous other changes and an assumption that the economy will grow reaches $3.5 trillion.”
Yahoo News: “The new tax hike proposal, when combined with approximately $600 billion in dynamic revenue growth estimated by the Biden administration, would fully offset the cost of the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget package, according to the drafters.”

FACT CHECK: In 2017, The Trump Tax Bill Was Widely Reported As Costing $1.5 Trillion (Which Was Later Revised Up To $2 Trillion), Yet The Gross Cost Of The Trump Tax Bill Was Actually $5.5 Trillion.

Center On Budget And Policy Priorities: “The focus on the gross cost [of the Build Back Better Agenda] is a break from how the costs of the Trump tax cuts were evaluated. The Trump tax cuts enacted in 2017 were widely reported as costing $1.5 trillion (later revised by the Congressional Budget Office to $1.9 trillion). This was a net figure, representing the net cost of the tax cuts and spending increases after the significant tax increases and spending cuts the package included were taken into account.”
Center On Budget And Policy Priorities: “If the Trump tax bill were evaluated only on the basis of the tax cuts and spending increases alone, without consideration of the tax increases and spending cuts the package included, it would have been characterized as a $5.50 trillion package.”
Joint Committee On Taxation: In 2017, the estimated gross cost of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was $5.5 trillion, while the offsets of the bill totaled $4 trillion for a net cost of $1.5 trillion.

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