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Episode 1371Apr 15, 2025

Will Congress deliver Trump's tax cuts?

A little accounting magic might help.

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Speaker Mike Johnson after House Republicans approved their budget framework Thursday.
Speaker Mike Johnson after House Republicans approved their budget framework Thursday.
J. Scott Applewhite | AP

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Happy Tax Day, folks. While you’re hitting “Submit” on your returns, lawmakers in Washington are negotiating what next year’s Tax Day could look like.

Congress is aiming to pack President Donald Trump’s promised tax cuts into one behemoth reconciliation bill. But Caitlin Reilly, tax and economics reporter at CQ Roll Call, said there’s a long way to go before making these promises a reality.

“When lawmakers get back from this two-week recess, you're going to start to see parts of this bill get marked up in committees,” said Reilly. “We'll have a much better sense of which programs could see spending cuts, what kind of tax breaks people could be looking at, and which sectors may be facing tax increases.”

On the show today, Reilly explains why Congress is pursuing “reconciliation,” the accounting magic lawmakers are using to make certain tax cuts look free, and how the House and Senate will square two drastically different mandates for spending cuts.

Then, we’ll look into how Boeing is getting caught up in the U.S.-China trade war. And, a tax professor answers the “Make Me Smart” question.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

We want to hear your answer to the “Make Me Smart” question. Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

The Team