Trump aide argues tax cuts a boon for incomes

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s top economist is doubling down on claims that corporate tax cuts would spark rapid economic growth and boost incomes.

Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, released a 41-page report on Friday detailing the possible benefits from the administration’s goal of slashing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. The report estimates that the reduced rate for businesses could increase the size of the U.S. economy by $700 billion to $1.2 trillion over a decade, while causing average household income to eventually surge by $4,000 annually.

Democratic lawmakers and many economists are doubtful that Trump’s tax cuts can deliver the boosts suggested by Hassett. They have said that Hassett cherry-picked his evidence and that most of the benefits from corporate tax cuts would go to wealthy investors rather than middle-class workers.

“This is their latest installment of trickle-down fairy dust,” said Jared Bernstein, a senior fellow at the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and a former economics adviser in the Obama administration.

Bernstein stressed that he sees benefits from a smart redesign of the corporate tax code that lowers the rate and closes loopholes. But the Trump plan, he said, is assuming unrealistic gains. The GOP’s framework puts more emphasis on cutting taxes for companies and could increase the budget deficit, which could restrain long-term economic growth.

Hassett said Friday he’s “optimistic” that the possible economic growth generated from the plan will mean “it won’t significantly add to the deficit” and could be revenueneutral after 10 years. His argument is that a lower corporate tax rate would lead to more investments by companies in equipment and workers, which would increase productivity and incomes.

But an analysis released Friday by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates that the plan — after factoring in its effects on the economy — would reduce federal tax revenue by $2.4 trillion over the next decade.