3) Trump and Bessent Slay Global Tax Cartel

Tax competition is absolutely CRITICAL to economic growth and as a deterrent to runaway government.  That’s why the socialist Europeans hate it.

Biden’s Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, unpatriotically played into their hands with her subversive “global minimum tax.”

Bravo to Trump and Scott Bessent who have taken a big step in ending the OECD/World Bank dreams of an international tax cartel.

American companies will not be subject to OECD minimum taxes under a new agreement negotiated by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, pursuant to President Trump's day one executive orders:

Score one for the new sheriff in town and the America First movement, at the expense of the globalists.  

The deal not only protects Americans sovereignty but also means key pro-growth Trump tax cuts will not be undermined by discriminatory foreign taxes.

Because of this, Bessent also asked for the Senate and House to remove Section 899 of OBBB, which would have imposed a 5% to 15% tax on countries that discriminate against the U.S.

We hope this deal requires the end of Euro “digital services taxes” imposed on America’s tech industry.

4) What’s the Matter with North Carolina?

We mentioned in a Hotline item last week that tobacco farmers in North Carolina are trying to block a provision in the House-passed Big Beautiful tax bill, that would close a loophole allowing farmers to avoid paying the $1.01 per pack cigarette tax on exported tobacco. The industry has recruited NC Senator Thom Tillis to champion the cause.

Now, nearly the entire North Carolina farm lobby (and some Virginia farm groups too) is pushing the tax break that reduces tax collections by $12 to $20 billion and encourages smoking.

In a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, the farm lobby pleads that “the duty drawback is vital for American tobacco farmers” and that this end run around the excise tax “plays a quiet but essential role in keeping U.S. leaf attractive on the international stage.”

By that logic, taxpayers should shower subsidies on  EVERY American product.

And for what and whom? The letter describes tobacco as "a key driver of the North Carolina economy." Sure. Back when Richard Nixon was president.

The USDA reports that the number of tobacco farmers in America has fallen from 90,000 in 1997 to about 3,000 today.  

We are libertarians on this issue. Tobacco use should not be banned. But discouraging smoking is universally recognized as the easiest and cheapest way to reduce early death, cut health care costs, and avert the misery of cancer.

Even their letter admits this. Getting rid of the subsidy "will reduce demand" for tobacco. So true. If you tax something less, you get more of it.  

This tax break subsidizes bad health, and should be immediately repealed.

5) Chicago Teacher Union: Your Children Are Our Children

Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President Stacy Davis Gates is probably the most powerful and most radical union leader in the country with more than 300,000

School children under her control.

She is pushing for a new contract that raises teacher pay by 9% a year and includes initiatives from housing subsides for teachers to “restorative justice” programs. She also sees standardized tests as a target, dismissing data that shows that in 2022, 9% of Chicago’s black eighth graders were proficient in reading and 4% were proficient in math.  She claims that student testing “at best is junk science rooted in white supremacy.”

The CTU also knows how to shut down competition. Last year, the union instigated a shutdown of an Illinois school choice program, putting the futures of 10,000 low-income students at risk. Gates recognizes educational quality when she sees it. She sends her own son to a private school.

Gates told the City Club of Chicago on Monday:  “(Author James) Baldwin says the children are always ours. Every single one of them, all over the globe. And what comes next is ‘CTU thinks your children are its children.’ Yes, we do. We do.”

6) But He Charges Less!

Know anyone else who would appreciate the Hotline? Please direct them to subscribe at: https://committeetounleashprosperity.com/hotline/
 

Have an idea for an item that should be in our newsletter? Send us any charts, statistics, heroes/villains, or humor that you’d like to see featured!