July 23, 1979
Page 20181
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I would like to briefly outline the revenue impact of the Trade Agreements Act and its consistency with the first concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 1980.
The Trade Agreements Act would reduce revenues by $83 million in fiscal year 1980 and $108 million in fiscal year 1984. This revenue loss is due primarily to the shift to the proof-gallon basis for assessing taxes and import duties on distilled spirits.
Additional tariff reductions totaling $247 million in fiscal year 1980 and $1,597million in fiscal year 1984 were also negotiated during the multilateral trade negotiations. These tariff reductions can be made by the President under existing authority, and they are therefore not included in the bill now before us.
The Trade Agreements Act is consistent with the first budget resolution for fiscal year 1980. The first budget resolution revenue floor assumes that any legislation reducing receipts in fiscal year 1980 will be offset by other legislation raising revenues by an equivalent amount. The revenue loss associated with this bill now appears certain to be more than offset by revenue gains from a windfall profit tax or other revenue raising legislation.