Target, Best Buy, and Gap all quadrupled their spending on lobbyists last quarter, in an attempt to strike down Paul Ryan’s proposed Boarder Adjustment Tax (BAT).
The three retailers have spent a combined $3.2 million since January, 2017 (up from $830,000 in the same period last year), seeking to rally support against the proposal – which would tax US companies’ domestic sales and imports at 20%, while exempting their exports – as they believe it would lead to a decrease in profits, and increase in consumer prices.
Others in the retail industry have also made their opposition known, including the National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, mega-importer Wal-mart, and perhaps most surprisingly, billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, both of whom have funneled millions of dollars into the campaigns of republican candidates in the last several elections.
Despite their staunch support of Speaker Ryan, and the fact they they would personally benefit from the corporate tax cut resultant from the BAT, the brothers have claimed it would be “devastating” to their holding companies which range from oil and gas, to paper products and forestry, to consumer goods, plastics, and animal ranching.
You can read more about it at Bloomberg.
