• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declares the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' will pay for itself through growth.
  • The package aims to lock in 2017 tax cuts while expanding worker credits and manufacturing incentives.
  • Failure to pass could trigger economic turmoil, warns Bessent.

Treasury chief pitches tax bill as growth engine

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made the case Thursday that the sweeping 'One Big Beautiful Bill' (OBBBA) currently moving through Congress would more than cover its costs through economic expansion, calling it "the antidote to stagnation" in remarks to financial leaders.

The legislative package—which would make permanent the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions while adding new worker benefits and manufacturing incentives—is projected to boost average household incomes by $7,800 to $13,300 annually, according to Treasury estimates shared with reporters. Bessent emphasized that the growth effects would outweigh static revenue losses, telling attendees at a Wall Street roundtable that "when you run the dynamic scoring, this bill doesn't cost—it pays."

Key provisions include 100% expensing for new domestic factories and a prohibition on taxing tips and overtime pay—measures designed to stimulate capital investment and put more money in workers' pockets. "What we're seeing is businesses holding back on capex until they get certainty," Bessent noted, adding that the bill's passage would unlock what he called "the great American productivity boom."

Political and economic stakes

With Senate negotiations entering a critical phase, administration officials have framed the legislation as essential to maintaining U.S. competitiveness. "Failure isn't an option here," said one White House aide involved in the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The automatic triggers if these cuts expire would be cataclysmic."

Market reaction has been cautiously optimistic, with the S&P 500 rising 0.8% since the bill cleared its first procedural hurdle last week. However, some budget hawks remain skeptical about the growth projections. "There's a lot riding on those dynamic scoring assumptions holding up," noted a senior staffer on the House Ways and Means Committee.

The Treasury Department has begun briefing lawmakers on updated economic models showing the package could add between 1.2 and 1.8 percentage points to GDP growth over the next decade. Whether those numbers will satisfy deficit concerns remains unclear as congressional leaders work to reconcile different versions of the bill.