Border Adjustment Tax

The Challenge

House Speaker Paul Ryan introduced a major tax reform package in June 2016.  Among the many ideas in this reform package was a new tax, known as the “Border Adjustment Tax” (BAT), on imported goods like clothing, food, medicine and gasoline – products American families rely on every day. Exports, however, were exempted from this new tax.

If implemented the BAT would have represented a trillion dollar tax break for a handful of corporations at the expense of middle-class American families dependent upon these goods. In fact, the BAT was estimated to increase expenses for families by $1,700 per year.

To help push Speaker Ryan’s plan, a pro-Border Adjustment Tax entity called the American Made Coalition (AMC) was formed, whose membership included some of the largest manufacturers in the country.

Against this backdrop, Public Blueprint was engaged  as a part of a national coalition (Americans for Affordable Products) to help combat the efforts of AMC in Texas with the ultimate goal of defeating the BAT.