Freedom Partners is set to name and shame industry groups that oppose tax reform or try to preserve specific tax breaks.
On a new site, nomorecorporatewelfare.com, Freedom Partners — the free-market advocacy group affiliated with the Koch network — calls out interests like the National Association of Realtors, which is seeking to keep housing-related tax breaks, and the American Council on Renewable Energy, which is protecting energy tax breaks.
While the lobbying over the tax bill is sure to be fierce, it’s unusual for specific trade groups to be singled out for criticism by an outside group.
Freedom Partners is promoting the site and the push for tax reform in a new ad, starting today in Washington, D.C.
“Some businesses, lobbyists, and politicians are standing in the way, preventing tax reform, promoting corporate welfare, protecting their special tax advantages,” the ad says.
James Davis, the group’s executive vice president, said “we want to make it clear that we aren’t going to sit idly by and let crony politicians, businesses, and lobbyists jeopardize” tax reform.
“Americans deserve a tax code that puts their interests ahead of special interests, and shining a light on this process is the best way to ensure they get one,” he said.
Freedom Partners and the Koch network more broadly have been important players in the tax legislation effort so far.
Now backing the GOP tax plan, the network previously played a major role in opposing the border-adjusted corporate tax proposed by House Speaker Paul Ryan as part of a comprehensive reform. That measure was opposed by the retail industry, oil refiners, and other industries reliant on imports.
