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description: President Trump likes to brag that he graduated from the Wharton School, so its take on his tax reform bill might sting a little.
title: President Trump Brags He Was a Top Student at Wharton. Here&#x27;s What It Said About His Tax Bill
image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cc62e95b894d1a2/6988f49a656a3f007dbd2cc3/gettyimages-889873280.jpg?branch=production&amp;width=3840&amp;quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;crop=16:9
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# President Trump Brags He Was a Top Student at Wharton. Here's What It Said About His Tax Bill


by 

[Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/)


## Nash Jenkins


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Dec 11, 2017 5:34 PM CUT

![President Trump returns to White House from Florida](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3cc62e95b894d1a2/6988f49a656a3f007dbd2cc3/gettyimages-889873280.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 10: President Donald Trump returns to the White House in Marine One on December 10, 2017 in Washington, DC.

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 10: President Donald Trump returns to the White House in Marine One on December 10, 2017 in Washington, DC.Pool—Getty Images

by 

[Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/)


## Nash Jenkins


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Dec 11, 2017 5:34 PM CUT

President Trump likes to brag that he graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, so its take on his tax reform bill might sting a little.

In [an analysis of the tax reform bill](http://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2017/12/8/the-senate-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-as-passed-by-senate-12217-static-and-dynamic-effects-on-the-budget-and-the-economy "undefined") which passed the Senate, the Ivy League business school found that it would increase the national debt by $1.5 trillion over the next decade, while boosting the economy only a small amount in the short term.

“Penn Wharton Budget Model’s dynamic analysis projects that The Senate Tax Cuts and Jobs Act increases federal debt in both the short- and long-run relative to current policy,” the analysis reads. “In the near term, there is a small boost to GDP, but that increase diminishes over time.”

According to the analysis, the bill’s tax cuts will cost the government $1.18 trillion in unearned revenue by 2027 — a higher sum than [previously estimated](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/11/30/senate-gop-tax-plan-would-fall-1-trillion-short-of-trump-administrations-promises-congress-tax-analyst-says/ "undefined") by the Joint Tax Committee, the nonpartisan congressional auditor, last month. The impact of slashing the corporate tax rate to 20% will be even steeper: $1.4 trillion in lost revenue.

Trump has often cited his degree from Wharton as proof of his intelligence.

“You know, people don’t understand. I went to an Ivy League college,” Trump once [said.](https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/11/donald-trump-2016-wharton-pennsylvania-214425 "undefined") “I was a nice student. I did very well. I’m a very intelligent person.”

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