Tax Reform in Congress: A Humorous Skepticism

Happy Tax Day, folks. While you’re hitting “Submit” on your returns, lawmakers in Washington are negotiating over what next year’s Tax Day could look like. Congress is aiming to pack President Donald Trump’s promised tax cuts into one behemoth reconciliation bill. But Caitlin Reilly, tax and economics reporter at CQ Roll Call, said there’s a long way to go before making these promises a reality. On the show today, Reilly explains why Congress is pursuing “reconciliation,” the accounting magic lawmakers are using to make certain tax cuts look free, and how the House and Senate will square two drastically different mandates for spending cuts.

Then, we’ll look into how Boeing is getting caught up in the U.S.-China trade war. And, a tax professor answers the “Make Me Smart” question.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "House Republicans Passed a New Budget. Here's What's in It." from The New York Times
• "Senate GOP passes budget plan, setting up a critical next phase for Trump agenda" from NPR
• "House GOP adopts budget framework, paving the way for Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’" from Politico
• "'Current policy' debate dogs budget reconciliation efforts" from Roll Call
• "Your cheat sheet to Congress’ budget fight" from PBS Newshour
• "China Goes After Boeing, Tells Airlines Not to Order New Aircraft From U.S. Jet Maker" from The Wall Street Journal

We want to hear your answer to the “Make Me Smart” question. Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.