Exporters forming coalition to support House GOP border tax

A group of domestic manufacturers is putting together a coalition to support House Republicans’ “border-adjustment” proposal to tax imports while exempting exports.

A source familiar with the coalition’s planning told The Hill that more than 50 exporters and manufacturers have committed to being part of the group or have expressed interest in joining it. The coalition is expected to be announced shortly.

Boeing, GE, Oracle and Dow are among the businesses that are likely to be part of the group, according to reports from Politico and the Financial Times.

{mosads}The border-adjustment provision is a key piece of the House GOP tax plan, which serves as the basis for legislation being drafted in the chamber. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said on MSNBC Wednesday that he wants to pass tax-reform legislation by the end of the summer.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) has said the border-adjustment proposal would remove incentives for businesses to move their jobs and headquarters overseas. The proposal is also a key source of revenue in the tax plan that can be used to help pay for lowering tax rates.

But opposition to the border-adjustment provision has been mounting.

Retailers and Koch Industries have warned that the proposal would increase prices for consumers. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance, an anti-government waste group, ran an ad in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday in which media mogul Steve Forbes suggested that a border-adjustment tax would be bad politics that would hurt Republican voters.

President Trump called the border-adjustment proposal “too complicated” in a recent interview with the Journal. However, he later said the topic would be under discussion.