Republicans: Halt Delta’s tax break over NRA move
Republicans in the ATLANTA —
Georgia legislature took a step Wednesday toward fulfilling the GOP lieutenant governor’s vow to punish Delta Air Lines for severing business ties with the National Rifle Association. But a Democratic rival warned the political threat could be illegal.
The Republican-dominated Senate Rules Committee cast a non-unanimous voice vote Wednesday to strip a sales tax exemption on jet fuel from a larger tax bill, which now goes to the full Senate. Atlanta-based Delta stood to save tens of millions of dollars annually as the biggest beneficiary of the fuel tax break.
The move came two days after Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle threatened to kill the tax break for Delta. Cagle and other GOP candidates to succeed Gov. Nathan Deal next year have been united this week in attacking Delta ever since it announced it was ending the travel discount program it had offered to NRA members.
The airline’s recent decision to cut ties with the NRA following a deadly school shooting in Florida had prompted Cagle to tweet Monday that he would “kill” a proposed tax exemption benefiting Delta unless the airline reverses its stance. Georgia officials have been working behind the scenes ever since to try to reach a resolution between Republican lawmakers, Delta and the NRA.
Cagle took to the Fox News Channel on Wednesday morning to defend his position, arguing that Delta had taken “punitive” action against defenders of the Second Amendment and was unfairly targeting “law-abiding gun owners.”
But a Democratic candidate for the governor’s office believes Cagle has gone too far.
In a Wednesday letter, Stacey Evans urged Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, to investigate whether Cagle’s recent tweet broke bribery, extortion and ethics laws.
Cagle stands to benefit economically from the threat as a member of the NRA, Evans said. She also said Cagle’s campaign for governor could also benefit.
“Cagle threatened to use his elected office to impose retribution against Delta ... unless Delta conformed to his personal ideology,” she wrote.
Cagle’s spokesman declined comment.
Although Cagle’s threat to kill the tax cut may win fans among GOP voters, it could also backfire when it comes to recruiting business — most notably Georgia’s status as a finalist for Amazon’s planned second U.S. headquarters, said William Hatcher, an Augusta University professor who studies economic development.
Delta employs 33,000 workers statewide in Georgia, and its Atlanta hub has made Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport the busiest in the world.
Airlines would have owed the state an estimated $38 million less annually under the proposal removed from the tax-cut package by the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday.
Prior to the NRA controversy, the bill had easily passed the House last week with the jet fuel exemption included.
If the amended measure passes the Senate, the jet fuel proposal could still be added back if the bill is sent to a conference committee.