The Latest on Republican efforts to deny Delta Air Lines a tax break after the company cut ties with the National Rifle Association (all times local):
3:45 p.m.
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Pro-gun Republicans in the Georgia legislature have won a political victory over Delta Air Lines, denying the company a hefty tax break after it cut ties with the National Rifle Association in the wake of a deadly shooting at a Florida high school.
The state House and Senate passed by large margins Thursday a sweeping tax bill the GOP amended to strip out a sales tax exemption on jet fuel. Atlanta-based Delta would have been the prime beneficiary.
The measure now goes to the desk of Republican Gov. Nathan Deal, who criticized the “unbecoming squabble” on Wednesday but said he would sign the tax bill into law in whatever form it passed.
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and other Republicans vowed to kill the Delta tax break after the airline announced it would no longer offer discounted fares to NRA members.
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12:40 p.m.
The Georgia Senate has approved a sweeping tax bill that snubs Delta Air Lines, following through on Republican vows to punish the company for cutting ties with the National Rifle Association.
Lawmakers voted 44-10 Thursday in favor of a tax proposal that had been stripped of a provision exempting jet fuel from sales taxes. Atlanta-based Delta would have been the prime beneficiary.
Republican Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle vowed to kill the tax break after Delta announced it would longer offer discounted fares to NRA members. Cagle is running to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Nathan Deal, who criticized the controversy as an “unbecoming squabble” fueled by election-year posturing.
The House previously passed the tax bill with the jet fuel exemption intact. The chambers must negotiate a final version.
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10:15 a.m.
Georgia lawmakers are expected to vote on a sweeping tax bill that no longer includes a proposed jet fuel tax break which had been in Republicans’ crosshairs ever since Delta Air Lines severed ties with the National Rifle Association.
The Georgia Senate is scheduled to vote on the newly amended measure Thursday.
The legislature has garnered national attention ever since Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle tweeted Monday that we would kill the proposed tax break on jet fuel as retribution for Atlanta-based Delta’s decision to stop offering NRA members discounted fares.
Republican Gov. Nathan Deal said Wednesday that he plans to sign the broader tax bill, even if it’s without the airline tax break he had pushed for. Deal says he’s pursuing the jet fuel tax exemption separately.
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