BUSINESS/GUNS/NRA/TAXES: “The lieutenant governor in Georgia threatened on Monday [2-26-18] to kill a proposed lucrative tax cut for Delta Air Lines after the company eliminated a discount fare program for the National Rifle Association over the weekend.
The move by Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who presides over the State Senate, immediately put the legislation in jeopardy and put him at loggerheads with other top state officials, including the governor, who had championed the tax deal. The showdown between one of Georgia’s most powerful politicians and one of the state’s largest employers was the latest clash in a national debate around guns after the deadly school shooting in Florida this month.
Mr. Cagle, a Republican, fired the salvo at Delta on Twitter on Monday afternoon, saying that the Atlanta-based company must restore its program with the N.R.A. ‘Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back,’ Mr. Cagle, who had expressed his support for the bill earlier this month, said on Twitter.
Mr. Cagle, who received an A+ grade by the N.R.A. when he was running for his position in 2006, did not return a call seeking comment on Monday evening. As the Senate president, Mr. Cagle wields significant influence over legislation and how it flows through the Senate, where Republicans hold a 37 to 19 majority over Democrats.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Nathan Deal, who had said the tax bill was necessary to encourage airlines to open direct routes from Georgia to destinations around the world, did not return an email seeking comment.”
-Matthew Haag and Tiffany Hsu, “Georgia Republicans Vow to Kill Airline Tax-Cut Bill After Delta Ends N.R.A. Discount,” The New York Times online, Feb. 26, 2018