With the healthcare bill still outstanding, House Republicans are beginning to make their case for tax reform in the hopes of creating a smoother legislative path.
The political nonprofit connected with Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., launched its first advertisement trying to build political support for the politically tricky effort with digital spots targeting a mixture of safe and competitive GOP-held districts. That’s a strategic decision after watching healthcare get bogged down by opposition from Republicans in safe districts as well as swing seats targeted by the Democrats in the midterm elections.
The new ad, from American Action Network, features a Republican economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin making the case for conservative tax reform. In the ad, Holtz-Eakin advocates for changing the way Washington collects taxes to give “incentives to invest in America, innovative in America, and grow in America.”
That could be interpreted as support for the border adjustability import tax, the central plank of Ryan’s tax plan that was noticeably not embraced by President Trump in the tax reform blueprint he introduced last week. That wouldn’t be surprising since AAN is the official outside group for donors who want to lend support to Ryan and House Republicans.
But in an email exchange, Holtz-Eakin said that while he believes border adjustability is a worthwhile concept to consider, there are other ways to alter how the federal government collects taxes, cautioning that the ad script wasn’t necessarily making a particular political statement about Ryan’s import tax proposal.
“I certainly think border adjustment has merit in the context of the House blueprint. But there are other “transformative” elements that are on my mind: territoriality, expensing, equal treatment of debt and equity,” Holtz-Eakin said. Following is the script of the ad:
I’m Doug Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum
Every day is a reminder that it’s been 31 years since we did tax reform
The tax code remains too complicated, hurts American economic growth, and makes our firms uncompetitive.
We need tax reform, but when will we know if we have it
Number one, it will be permanent.
No more tax lobbyist coming in every year and changing the code, let’s put them out of business.
Number two, it will be structural.
We are not just going to trade one set of loopholes, for another set of loopholes.
Or lower a tax rate, only to see another administration jack it up a few years from now.
We need to change the way that we collect taxes.
So that number three, it’s transformative.
Our tax code was made for the 20th century, we need a 21st-century tax code.
That gives incentives to invest in America, innovative in America, and grow in America
To raise the American standard of living.
We need tax reform: permanent, structural, transformative changes in the tax code.
Holtz-Eakin works for American Action Forum, AAN’s sister group. This initial investment is worth $250,000 but is expected to grow into the millions as advertising expands to television and other venues.
