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Achieving Fiscally Responsible Tax Reform

Top 20 Proposals to Reduce Wasteful Spending, Close Tax Loopholes, and Save up to $4 Trillion

Enacted in 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) stimulated economic growth, delivered tax relief for hardworking Americans, and made significant progress toward simplifying the tax code. Now, Congress is facing tough decisions about how to deal with the expiration of many of those crucial but expensive reforms. This report presents 20 priority reforms — 10 spending cuts and 10 tax loophole closers — that would generate up to $4 trillion in savings to help advance the permanent extension of the TCJA without adding to the deficit.

View the report to learn more about how these policies can shape America’s economic future and protect future generations.

Here’s what’s inside the report:

Budget Savings Proposals to Achieve Fiscally Responsible Tax Reform
Total estimated savings: Up to $4 trillion over 10 years

Top 10 Spending Cuts

  • Simplify student loan repayment
    Savings: Up to $210 billion
  • Reform Grad PLUS Loans
    Savings: $40 billion 
  • Create performance standards for Title IV funding
    Savings: $5 – 20 billion
  • Repeal limitation on recapture of ACA exchange subsidy overpayment
    Savings: $47 – 96 billion
  • Repeal IRA expansion of electric vehicle tax credit
    Savings: $100 billion
  • Eliminate interest rate arbitrage in the Thrift Savings Plan G Fund
    Savings: $47 billion
  • Advance comprehensive site-neutral payment reforms
    Savings: Up to $157 billion
  • Reduce the payment benchmark for Medicaid state-directed payments
    Savings: Up to $120 billion 
  • Extend drug price inflation penalties to commercial plans
    Savings: $40 billion
  • Modify risk adjustment payments to Medicare Advantage insurers
    Savings: Up to $1 trillion

    Top Ten Tax Loophole Closers 

    • Apply SALT cap to businesses
      Savings: $610 – 823 billion
    • Repeal the Employee Retention Tax Credit
      Savings: $77 billion
    • Repeal tax deduction for roundtripping
      Savings: $69 billion
    • Tax university endowment investment income at same rate as corporations
      Savings: $70 billion
    • Reduce tax preference for stock buybacks over dividends
      Savings: Up to $246 billion
    • Restore the original intent of the Section 199A deduction
      Savings: $82 billion
    • Impose excise tax on buy-borrow-die transactions
      Savings: $93 billion
    • Repeal or limit qualified small business stock exemption
      Savings: up to $81 billion
    • Limit mortgage interest deduction
      Savings: $130 billion
    • Repeal head of household filing status (and increase child tax credit)
      Savings: $346 billion for full repeal