The billionaire Koch brothers are well-prepared
for the upcoming debate over tax reform, with allies arranging to plant
questions at town hall meetings and efforts to orchestrate a grassroots army to
demand lower corporate taxes.
A detailed timeline for the
Koch strategy was laid out in a recent document prepared by a public relations
firm that services the broad network of conservative advocacy groups controlled
by the billionaire brothers’ political network. The plan calls
for action to take advantage of President Donald Trump’s pledges to
reform the tax code. Trump has called
for cutting the corporate tax rate by as much as 50 percent, and eliminating
the estate tax on inherited wealth, creating a unique opportunity to
propose legislation that would benefit business owners such as the Koch
brothers.
“Comprehensive tax reform has
been a long-standing priority for our network, and the election of Donald
Trump, coupled with pro-freedom majorities in the House and Senate, offers us a
once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore prosperity by enacting reforms,”
the document, obtained by The Intercept, declares.
The strategy
memo lays out a five-phase plan for passing a version of tax reform that is
favorable to the Koch donor network. The Koch brothers make clear that their
ideal tax reform legislation would exclude the idea of an import or carbon tax,
while focusing on broad reductions in the corporate tax rate.
Although a portion of the
strategy entails traditional lobbying and meetings with influential
policymakers, along with paid advertising to pressure lawmakers, the memo also
calls for substantial resources to be invested in grassroots advocacy.
During Phase 3 of the
strategy, starting next month, the Koch network will use its grassroots
advocacy arms, including Americans for Prosperity, to put pressure on members
of Congress when they return home for town hall meetings during the
August recess period. The Koch network will use constituent meetings to “drive
the narrative” around the need for their tax reform ideas, the memo said.
Advancing Comprehensive Tax
Reform document
The metadata of the document
shows that it was created by Avery Boggs, a former vice president at
Freedom Partners, the umbrella group that oversees the Koch political network.
Boggs now works as a vice president at In Pursuit Of, a public relations firm
spun off from the Koch network designed to provide marketing services to the
various groups that receive funding from Freedom Partners.
The Koch network includes a
range of political advocacy organizations, each designed to play a particular
role in advancing causes and candidates backed by the billionaire energy
tycoons and their allies. Americans for Prosperity, for instance, has
about 500 paid staffers, and plays a leading role in organizing broad
grassroots campaigns. Another group, Concerned Veterans for Americans, focuses
on mobilizing veterans. The network includes i360, a campaign data company that
developed intricate profiles of voters.
Last week, Politico reported
that Americans for Prosperity plans to kick off tax reform efforts on August 2
at an event at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., a
conservative leader in Congress, will speak at the event.
The Koch network, a major
importer of Canadian tar sands oil, has lobbied aggressively
to ensure that any tax reform package does not include the import tax once
favored by Trump. Recent disclosures show they have attempted to influence
the “House Republican Tax Reform Blueprint Draft.”
The tax reform memo was
distributed around the time of a Koch network retreat, held to collaborate
with like-minded conservative business leaders and investors, last month in
Colorado Springs, Colorado. At the event, the brothers pledged to raise $300
million for their network over the next year.
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