Days after Delta Air Lines announced it would strip discounted fares for National Rifle Association members, Georgia’s lieutenant governor has retaliated, by vowing to kill legislation that would hand the airline a lucrative tax break.
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, a Republican who leads the State Senate, demanded Delta – one of Georgia’s largest employers – make a choice: Stop boycotting the NRA, or watch lawmakers strike down a $50 million sales tax exemption on jet fuel, of which Delta would be the primary beneficiary.
“Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back,” said Cagle, who could weave the issue into his campaign in Georgia’s upcoming gubernatorial race.
Delta joined United Airlines, Best Western, MetLife and at least a dozen other companies in eliminating discounts and perks for NRA members amid the national gun-control debate spurred by the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, earlier this month. Advocates of the #BoycottNRA movement are now determined to bring on tech giants like Apple, Google, Roku and Amazon (whose founder, Jeff Bezos, owns the The Washington Post) that stream NRA-produced videos.
Delta at first resisted taking a stance as other companies with the slightest affiliation to the NRA were called out, and a list of companies who cut ties with the NRA began circulating on Twitter.
As The Washington Post reported earlier:
“Delta Air Lines held out against the pressure – for a few hours. A spokesman at first defended Delta’s flight discounts to the NRA’s annual convention in Dallas in May as ‘routine’ for large groups. The airline ‘has more than 2,000 such contracts in place,’ a spokesman told the liberal outlet ThinkProgress on Friday night.
“Come Saturday morning, Delta abruptly discontinued the discounts and asked the NRA to remove the information about the perk from the convention website. United Airlines released a nearly identical statement two hours later.”
Although Delta ended its alliance with the NRA, the company said its position on the gun-control debate remains “neutral.”
“Out of respect for our customers and employees on both sides, Delta has taken this action to refrain from entering this debate and focus on its business. Delta continues to support the 2nd Amendment,” the airline said in a statement.
The NRA in a statement Saturday afternoon said the companies who dropped their discounts were participating in “a shameful display of political and civic cowardice,” but also downplayed the importance of their actions.
“Let it be absolutely clear,” the NRA’s statement said. “The loss of a discount will neither scare nor distract one single NRA member from our mission to stand and defend the individual freedoms that have always made America the greatest nation in the world.”
Other Georgia Republicans have joined Cagle in threatening to fight the bill, which was easily approved in the House Thursday and now sits in the Senate. Until Saturday, it seemed to have wide support, as advocates say it would attract flights to Atlanta as opposed to other major airports, where jet fuel taxes aren’t charged.
State Sen. Rick Jaffares, a Republican, said he would lead the charge to kill the bill “to let Delta know their attack on the NRA and our 2nd Amendment is unacceptable.”
During an earnings call last month, Delta officials said the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 allowed the company to take a one-time charge of $150 million in the fourth quarter because of the new inclusion of foreign earnings and the reevaluation of deferred tax assets. In 2018, the company expects a reduced corporate tax rate will result in an all-in book tax rate of 22 to 24 percent.
But the company expects to pay taxes in 2019 and 2020 – which is when Georgia’s proposed tax bill would be especially beneficial, particularly in helping fund pensions, Delta officials said.
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