Feb 28, 2017

Retailers: remember the "T" in BAT stands for "Tax"

The proposed border-adjusted tax, which House Republicans are hoping to institute as a way to both increase revenue for tax reform and to support domestic manufacturing, is hated by the retail industry because it raises taxes on imports. And the problem with taking on retailers is that they're pretty good at marketing.

This commercial, launched by the National Retail Federation, underscores the difficulty proponents of supporting domestic production have always had: Consumers everywhere like low prices, while the benefits of supporting domestic manufacturing are concentrated in one industry.

The president is watching: The commercial debuted during Fox and Friends this morning, which featured an interview with President Trump. You can bet that the West Wing saw the commercial, and the political headaches it foreshadows.

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