How Could Congress Pay to Extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act?

One of the first tasks for Congress and the new administration in 2025 will be to extend the 2017 tax law signed by President Donald Trump. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), many of its individual provisions are scheduled to expire late next year. There’s a problem: America’s debt trajectory is unsustainable.

Even if the TCJA is not extended, U.S. debt would reach 122% of gross domestic product by 2034, surpassing the 106% peak the country saw in 1946 just after World War II. But if Congress extends the TCJA without finding a way to pay for it, the problem will grow even larger, with the debt rising to 133% of GDP by 2034. And that’s before any tax cuts Congress tries to add.