<P> The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (Pub. L. 107--16, 115 Stat. 38, June 7, 2001) was a sweeping piece of tax legislation in the United States passed by the 107th Congress and signed by President George W. Bush . It is commonly known by its abbreviation EGTRRA, often pronounced "egg - tra" or "egg - terra", and sometimes also known simply as the 2001 Act (especially where the context of a discussion is clearly about taxes), but is more commonly referred to as one of the two "Bush tax cuts". </P> <P> The Act made significant changes in several areas of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, including income tax rates, estate and gift tax exclusions, and qualified and retirement plan rules . In general, the Act lowered tax rates and simplified retirement and qualified plan rules such as for individual retirement accounts, 401 (k) plans, 403 (b), and pension plans . The changes were so large and numerous that many books and analysis papers were published regarding the changes and how to best take advantage of them . All the 2001 tax cuts were set to expire at the end of 2010 when Congress extended them . </P> <P> Many of the tax reductions in EGTRRA were designed to be phased in over a period of up to nine years . Many of these slow phase - ins were accelerated by the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA), which removed the waiting periods for many of EGTRRA's changes . </P> <P> A report published by researchers with The Heritage Foundation claimed that the tax cuts would result in the complete elimination of the U.S. national debt by fiscal year 2010 . </P>

What was a consequence of the 2001 economic growth and tax reconciliation act