Black Chamber backs House GOP border tax

The National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) is lending its support to a key provision in the House Republicans’ tax reform blueprint, as the proposal faces opposition from other business groups and GOP lawmakers.

In a policy memo released Wednesday, the NBCC praised the proposed border-adjustment tax, which would subject imports to a U.S. tax and exempt exports.

“The proposed blueprint’s border adjustment provision will … level the playing field for African American-owned businesses, allowing for more job creation and investment back into our communities,” the NBCC said.

Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration have said they want to enact tax reform legislation by August. The House is working on a bill based on their blueprint.

{mosads}House GOP leaders view the border-adjustment provision as an important part of their plan because it would raise revenue to pay for lowering tax rates and would remove incentives for businesses to move their jobs and headquarters overseas.

But the proposal has drawn concerns from lawmakers, retailers and conservative groups that believe it would lead to higher prices for consumers. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has said that he doesn’t think the House GOP tax plan could get 10 votes in the Senate.

The NBCC said that the businesses that have driven opposition to the proposal “don’t represent the broader retail sector, particularly African American retailers among the U.S.’s 100,000 African American-owned businesses, and who would benefit by the House Republican blueprint.”

The group pointed to economic analyses that have found that the border-adjustment provision would not lead to higher prices because the value of the U.S. dollar would increase.

“In fact, a stronger dollar would enhance the purchasing power by American consumers allowing them greater flexibility to purchase goods and services at African American-owned businesses throughout the United States,” the NBCC said.

The NBCC also praised features of the House GOP blueprint that would lower tax rates for both large and small businesses.

“The Trump administration and lawmakers from both parties and chambers of Congress should mobilize support for this tax reform proposal in light of the economic benefits it will bring to American workers and all sectors of America’s economy,” the group said.

Additionally, the NBCC recommended that President Trump withdraw Obama-era regulations that serve as barriers to business creation and facilitate public-private partnerships to develop energy-infrastructure projects.