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Sen. Cotton Worried How Border Tax Would Affect Consumers

Sen. Cotton Worried How Border Tax Would Affect Consumers

Sen. Tom Cotton (AP)

By    |   Wednesday, 15 February 2017 08:59 PM EST

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton has "serious concerns" with his party's border adjustment tax proposal, saying it could drive up consumer prices.

According to The Hill, the Arkansas lawmaker presented his anxieties about the idea on the Senate floor.

"Today I want to put on the record my serious concerns about a border adjustment tax. Many other senators share these concerns," Cotton said.

Senate Republicans "most certainly will not keep our powder dry and see working Americans railroaded with a precooked deal that raises their taxes and increase the prices of the stuff they buy every single day."

The border adjustment tax would slap a 20 percent tax on imports. Some Senate Republicans think that might be a bad idea.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, reports The Hill, met with his Republican colleagues in the Senate Tuesday to discuss the House GOP's tax plan. Ryan apparently told lawmakers to "keep your powder dry" while the House puts together the tax plan.

Cotton has serious reservations about the tax.

"Some ideas are so stupid only an intellectual could believe them," he said. "This is a theory wrapped in speculation inside a guess. Nobody knows for sure what will happen."

Supporters of the tax say it would support American workers and products by forcing consumers to buy goods made in the U.S.

Club for Growth president David McIntosh told Newsmax TV last month he does not support the border tax.

"Almost everything we buy, the prices will go up," McIntosh said. "So, it's not a tax on our trading partners or on foreign countries, it's a tax that Americans pay."

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


Politics
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton has "serious concerns" with his party's border adjustment tax proposal, saying it could drive up consumer prices.
tom cotton, border, tax, consumers
266
2017-59-15
Wednesday, 15 February 2017 08:59 PM
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