Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) introduced legislation on Wednesday that would require a more accurate account of the impact new tax policies have on jobs and the economy.
The Accurate Budgeting Act would require the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) to draft a “dynamic” score of tax legislation in addition to “static” scores that ignore some macroeconomic factors.
“Our current tax code is onerous, complex and too often forces American jobs overseas,” Portman, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said. “To keep American jobs here at home, we should reform our corporate income tax system by fixing the leaky plumbing and stopping the bleeding of American jobs to our competitors.”
The legislation would require that dynamic scores be used for information purposes only, so static scores would still be used for official estimates. If dynamic scores emerged as more accurate or reliable over time, however, they could replace static scores as the standard.
The JCT already has the capability to produce dynamic scores at no additional cost to taxpayers, but there’s no law that requires it to do so.
Static scores exclude macroeconomic factors that can alter the projected impact of proposed legislation on economic growth rates.
Portman introduced an amendment to a budget drafted by Senate Democrats last year that would have included the dynamic score provision, but it was cut from the final bill.