Brian Higgins: “It has been said by the U.S. Treasury Secretary that tax cuts pay for themselves. He says that not only will these…”

“It has been said by the U.S. Treasury Secretary that tax cuts pay for themselves. He says that not only will these corporate taxes pay for themselves, they will add an additional $2 trillion in economic activity. Nobody believes that. There is no credible report that supports that contention. What do pay for themselves are tax credits, particularly the Federal historic tax credit. That is one that returns generously to the Federal Treasury. The Federal historic tax credit returns more to the Treasury than it costs. In fact, $25 billion in credits have returned $29 billion to the Federal Treasury; $5 of private investment is made for every dollar in the Federal historic tax credit program. Nationally, $132 billion in private investment has been made because of $25 million in Federal historic tax credits. Over 43,000 buildings in downtown areas like my community of Buffalo, New York, have benefited tremendously from this valuable program. It is eliminated in the House bill; it is eliminated in the Senate bill; and the conference should restore it as an issue of fairness.”