Harris’s economic pitch could cost $1.7 trillion: Analysis

Vice President Harris’s recent proposals laid out as part of her Agenda to Lower Costs for American Families could increase the nation’s deficits by $1.7 trillion over a decade, a new analysis found, though the campaign is vowing offsets through taxes on the rich.

Harris unveiled several proposals Friday as part of her agenda for the economy if she wins the presidency later this year, including a measure that would beef up the child tax credit (CTC) to provide a $6,000 tax cut to families with newborn children.

The plan also calls for the restoration of an expansion to the CTC that was passed as part of a sweeping coronavirus relief package in 2021 known as the American Rescue Plan, pressing for up to $3,600 per child tax credit for some families.

In an analysis from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) released later on Friday, the group estimated Harris’s proposals to expand the CTC could come with a price tag of $1.2 trillion from fiscal 2026 through 2035.

Other measures proposed in the plan that would expand the earned income tax credit (EITC), set up a tax credit for first-time homebuyers, extend the Affordable Care Act premium tax credit expansion and efforts to support affordable housing, could cost upwards of $700 billion during the same time frame, CRFB noted.

The group estimates the proposed plan could cost $1.95 trillion over 10 years, but notes that figure could climb to $2.25 trillion if some of the proposed housing measures set to take place if Harris is elected are made permanent.

However, the group says the estimated cost is “partially offset” through other agenda items aimed at lowering prescription drug costs that could help generate “roughly $250 billion of savings.”

“The Harris campaign has emphasized that the major housing policies would only be in effect for four years. However, if they were extended permanently, the fiscal impact would grow to $2 trillion,” the group said.

While the agenda doesn’t offer specifics on how the measures will be paid for, the campaign said Friday that any additional costs above the fiscal 2025 budget would “be offset by increased taxes on corporations and high earners.”

The analysis is the latest estimate shining a light on the potential price tags of some of Harris and former President Trump’s economic plans as both battle it out for the White House.

The Congressional Budget Office also projected in May that the extension of tax cuts passed as part of Trump’s signature 2017 tax law could add trillions of dollars to the nation’s deficits over roughly the next decade.