To an economist, or even a businessman, there is no meaningful difference between a government spending program and a tax expenditure. Either way, the recipient winds up with more money in his pocket, thanks to the government. Money is money. It spends just as well either way.
To the average GOP voter, however, there is an enormous difference. A tax expenditure is just the government returning money that it never should have taken anyway to the pocket of its hardworking rightful owner; a spending program is a misguided attempt to redistribute income from a productive person to a lazy one–in all likelihood, a minority whining about racism and demanding cuts in line.
This is why deficits created by tax cuts are OK, while deficits created by spending are to be avoided like the plague. It’s the foundation for the CL/Reactionary coalition commonly known as the Tea Party, which is already starting to rear its ugly head again, and which will be in full throat if Biden is elected.