CHARLESTON — Americans For Prosperity (AFP) delivered Halloween-themed posters to members of the U.S. Congress last week, urging them to oppose a renewal of tax extenders and reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank.
AFP Vice President of Economic Opportunity Russ Latino also sent a letter to Congress with the movie poster.
"Like Dr. Frankenstein building his monster away from the prying eyes of the townsfolk, Congress is trying to renew the Export-Import Bank and tax extenders without anyone knowing what they’re doing," Latino said in a statement provided to The West Virginia Record. "Both sides of the aisle should put a final nail in the coffin of this zombie corporate welfare that just won’t die. We urge Congress to help unrig the economy and vote ‘No’ on EX-IM and vote ‘No’ on tax extenders."
The posters show the U.S. Capitol building with a full moon and a hand rising up from the ground holding money. The images are accompanied by "Corporate Welfare Horror Show—It's a taxpayer's worst nightmare!" on the top.
The poster also says that Corporate welfare is "coming back from the dead" and that Congress is the only entity that can end it.
"Stop reauthorization of the EX-IM Bank. Kill the tax extenders," the poster reads.
EX-IM was slated to expire on Sept. 30, but a provision allowed it to keep going until Nov. 21.
The tax extenders AFP referred to are billions of dollars in tax credits, carve-outs and loopholes for special interests that were allowed to expire at the end of 2017 due to the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Congress is considering bringing the tax extenders back and making them retroactive for last year.
In the letter to Congress, Latino said EX-IM "rigs the game in favor of a few well-connected companies."
"Indeed, the lion’s share of Ex-Im subsidies go to a handful of the biggest corporations in America and their equally large foreign customers in places like China, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. If Ex-Im loans go bust, taxpayers pick up the tab," he wrote.
Latino wrote that the two initiatives should be left to "rest in peace."
"You can dress up those two in any costume you want but lurking beneath will always be the ugly face of corporate welfare and cronyism," he wrote. "It’s time for Congress to stop the corporate welfare horror show and put taxpayers first. No more Ex-Im Bank; no more tax extenders."
