Tax revenue increased 33% since Trump-era tax reform, while spending jumped more than 50%, CBO says

Federal tax revenue increased 33% since Congress passed the Trump-era tax reform bill in 2017, while spending increased more than 50% over that same time frame.

The data is contained in the Congressional Budget Office's recently released 10-year budget outlook.

"Measured as a share of the economy, tax revenue averaged 17% of gross domestic product in the years since the TCJA was passed, the same share as in 2017, and would have been higher if not for the pandemic and associated economic shutdowns," wrote Alfredo Ortiz, president and CEO of the Job Creators Network. "The CBO projects the tax share to grow in the years ahead."

Congress faces two appropriations deadlines in March. Lawmakers will need to a pass a new spending bill to continue federal government funding and avoid a shutdown. Currently, the total national debt, including intragovernmental holdings, is approaching $35 trillion.

The debt held by the public is currently $27.1 trillion and it is projected to jump to $48.3 trillion by the end of 2034, according to the CBO. 

The Committee for Responsible Federal Budget released an analysis that shows interest on the U.S. national debt is on pace to become the "second largest" federal government expenditure and the "fastest growing" part of the federal government's annual budget.

"Net interest has been exploding over the past few years, with payments rising from $223 billion in 2015 to $352 billion in 2021 before nearly doubling to $659 billion in 2023. In 2024, CBO projects net interest will total $870 billion, a near-record 3.1 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)," the budget watchdog's analysis revealed. 

Republicans have argued that Congress should find areas to reduce federal spending rather than increase taxes while Democrats want to raise taxes on wealthy individuals and families as well as corporations. The National Taxpayers Union Foundation pointed out that the top 10% of income earners, based on the most recent IRS data, "bore responsibility for 76% of all income taxes paid, and the top 25% paid 89% of all income taxes."

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., released in a report published in December 2023 that contains a list of items he characterizes as federal government "waste" totaling $900 billion. “Congress creates the inflation by running massive deficits," Paul said on the Senate floor last month.

Conservatives point to IRS data to argue that raising taxes on the wealthy isn't the best way to balance the federal budget over time. 

The latest report from the IRS's statistics of income division for tax year 2021 shows that the top 1% of earners with incomes above $682,577 paid almost 46% of all income taxes, which set a new record.