WASHINGTON _ The Treasury Department on Monday released a one-page analysis of the Senate tax bill, saying the cuts and other changes would more than pay for themselves by stimulating stronger economic growth.
But there's a catch.
The conclusion, which runs counter to estimates from Congress' own scorekeeper and outside analysts, assumes the economy also would be boosted by "a combination of regulatory reform, infrastructure development and welfare reform."
While the Trump administration has been reducing regulations, it has yet to release formal plans for infrastructure and welfare reform.
The white paper released Monday by Treasury's Office of Tax Policy said the Senate tax bill would generate $1.8 trillion in additional federal revenue over the next 10 years, more than offsetting the legislation's estimated $1.5 trillion cost.
But that calculation is based on U.S. economic output growing at a 2.9 percent inflation-adjusted rate, higher than the growth assumed by Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation.
That nonpartisan committee released an analysis on Nov. 30 saying the Senate tax bill would increase the federal budget deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade even after taking into account increased economic growth.
The Treasury analysis, which has been promised for weeks, acknowledges that "some economists predict different growth rates."
