Koch-backed group unveils $20M campaign highlighting Trump tax cuts

Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a conservative political action committee backed by Charles Koch announced that it is launching a $20 million ad blitz in support of President-elect Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

AFP said in a statement released Monday that it will "protect prosperity and renew" Trump's $4.5 trillion tax initiative through an ad blitz across the country, which it says is "urging Americans to unite in telling Washington that now is not the time for higher taxes."

The group will utilize its grassroots resources to "ensure pro-growth tax reform is Congress’ top priority," the statement said.

The group noted that it is the largest effort by a conservative organization to support the president-elect's second-term legislative agenda. AFP is a conservative political advocacy group funded by Charles Koch, the chair of Koch Inc.

In the past two years, AFP and AFP Action reached out to nearly 30 million voters, the statement noted.

“AFP was proud to work alongside President Trump and leaders in Congress to support the landmark TCJA, the most pro-growth tax reform in American history," AFP President and Chief Executive Officer Emily Seidel said in the statement. "TCJA gave hardworking Americans much needed relief."

TCJA, which was enacted under Trump in 2017, made huge permanent cuts to corporate and business taxes while making temporary cuts to individual taxes to limit the bill’s expansionary effects on the deficit.

Some parts of the law will expire at the end of this year, leading Republicans to work toward locking in or extending what they couldn’t set in stone in 2017 due to the Senate’s budget reconciliation rules.

However, Senate Republicans are growing increasingly concerned that the agenda could be derailed in the House due to several major hurdles.

A number of conservatives want their proposals to reduce or at least not add to the deficit. Trump's tax package is likely to add to the deficit, and it will be difficult to offset its costs without losing GOP votes.

Several Republicans are also insisting on substantially raising the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions, an expensive proposition.

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