A Rift in the Business Community Over the Fiscal Cliff
A Rift in the Business Community Over the Fiscal Cliff
A rift has opened in the U.S. business community over whether tax increases should be an important part of the government’s strategy for tackling the federal deficit and heading off destabilizing changes in tax and spending policies set to kick in at the end of the year.
Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, speaks at the organization’s headquarters in Washington. (Bloomberg)
The latest salvo was fired Wednesday when a coalition of business trade associations and advocacy groups warned Congress against agreeing to a deal that leans on new tax revenue. The group, which includes the Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the National Association of Manufacturers, urged lawmakers to put deep cuts in federal spending at the center of any plan to reduce the deficit.
This group, dubbed the Tax Relief Coalition, is pushing back against a rival campaign led by prominent chief executives who called on Congress late last month to include increased taxes, alongside spending cuts, in efforts to tame the national debt. Among the companies involved in the rival campaign are the leaders of Honeywell, JPMorgan Chase, UPS and Aetna.