Update: Following Georgia Lt. Governor"s threats earlier in the day, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the Georgia Senate has effectively blocked a lucrative tax break bill on Monday that would benefit Delta Air Lines.
Delta has angled for years to restore the tax break, which would save the company about $40 million annually. It was first adopted in the mid-2000s when the company was struggling, but lawmakers nixed it in 2015 when Delta officials got on the wrong side of lawmakers looking for extra cash for infrastructure improvements.
But the measure is now effectively grounded after Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said he wouldn’t support the $50 million jet fuel sales tax exemption unless the Atlanta-based airline reverses its decision to end discounted rates for NRA members. He joined a chorus of conservatives who opposed the measure after Delta announced its decision Saturday.
Democrats, largely relegated to the sidelines on the debate, painted their counterparts as bumbling base-pleasers. The Democratic Governors Association said the Delta snub was part of a broader “job-killing race to the right” in Georgia. And Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson called Republicans hypocrites.
“Republican leaders said Delta tax cuts created jobs that were good for business,” said Henson, a Democrat from Tucker. “But Republican fear of the NRA is evidently more important than the Georgia business climate, jobs or the well-being of Georgia citizens.”
Cagle, for his part, said a Delta reversal would go “ a long way” toward placating angry Republicans.
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As we detailed earlier, Lowell "Casey" Cagle, Georgia"s Lt. Governor, took to Twitter this morning to express his dis-satisfaction with Delta Airlines" decision to cut ties with the NRA after the massacre at a Florida high school last week.
Cagle begain by warning that "I will kill any tax legislation that benefits @Delta unless the company changes its position and fully reinstates its relationship with @NRA."
Then added that "Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back."
I will kill any tax legislation that benefits @Delta unless the company changes its position and fully reinstates its relationship with @NRA. Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back.
— Casey Cagle (@CaseyCagle) February 26, 2018
It did not take long for an avalanche of trolls (who must be Russian bots looking to stir social divides in America) to attack his tweet.
Cagle just happened to pick a day when the stock is soaring on the heels of Warren Buffett"s comments about the airline sector...
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