Republican lawmakers betrayed their promise to give Americans a tax reform package that would simplify the code without adding to the debt, The Washington Post said in an editorial.
The bill released by House Republicans "also betrays the nation’s children, and their children, who would eventually have to pay for this big unpaid-for tax cut that the country does not need," the newspaper said.
The Post claimed the bill has a "fatal flaw."
"It would cut far more by lowering tax rates than it would raise by closing loopholes," the paper said. "It is far out of balance.
"How far? The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget’s Maya MacGuineas warned Thursday that the House plan would cost $1.5 trillion over 10 years, and, because of the way it is written, the price could end up being even higher."
The Post noted that if the U.S. was in the middle of a recession, GOP lawmakers could argue in favor of a deficit-financed stimulus.
"But the economy is growing and does not need a short-term boost," the newspaper said. "In fact, with the economy expanding, this should be the time to reduce the nation’s already alarmingly large debt. That is a principle Republicans passionately embraced — when they were in the minority."
It maintained the price for the package is just way too high.
"The plan’s core provision, a $1.5 trillion cut in corporate taxes, slashing the rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, could be defensible — if it were paid for," the newspaper said. "Alas, it is not. The nation needs tax reform, but it would be better off with no change than with this."