Carbon Taxes are Detrimental to the U.S. Economy

Dear Members of Congress:

The undersigned organizations urge you to support the concurrent resolution, introduced by Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Congressman David McKinley (R-WV), which expresses the sense of the Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the U.S. economy.

We oppose any carbon tax. We oppose a carbon tax because it would lead to less income and fewer jobs for American families.

For example, a 2014 Heritage Foundation report found that a $37 per ton carbon tax would lead to a loss of more than $2.5 trillion in aggregate gross domestic product by 2030. That is more than $21,000 in income loss per family.

In addition, a carbon tax would cost over 500,000 jobs in manufacturing and more than 1 million jobs by 2030. According to a 2013 CBO report, a carbon tax is highly regressive.

After President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law on December 22, 2017, more than 90 percent of wage earners have had higher take-home pay.

At least 500 companies of all sizes have already announced special bonuses, pay raises, 401(k) match increases, tuition assistance, new training programs and other benefits for workers.

Thanks to the GOP tax cuts, utility companies are lowering rates, which means lower bills for consumers.

A carbon tax would reverse many of these successes.

We support the House Concurrent Resolution in opposition to a job-killing carbon tax and urge members to co-sponsor and support this effort.

Sincerely,

Grover Norquist
President, Americans for Tax Reform

James L. Martin, Founder/Chairman
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis
60 Plus Association

Phil Kerpen
President, American Commitment

Tom Pyle
President, American Energy Alliance

Lisa B. Nelson
CEO, ALEC Action

Norm Singleton
President, Campaign for Liberty

Bob Carlstrom
President, The Carlstrom Group, LLC

Andrew F. Quinlan
President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity

Jeffrey Mazzella
President, Center for Individual Freedom

Kent Lassman
President, Competitive Enterprise Institute

Matthew Kandrach
President, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy

Thomas Schatz
President, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste

Craig Richardson
President, Energy & Environmental Legal Institute

Alex Ayers
Executive Director, Family Business for Affordable Energy

Jason Pye
Vice President of Legislative Affairs, FreedomWorks

Carrie L. Lukas
President, Independent Women’s Forum

Heather R. Higgins
CEO, Independent Women’s Voice

Seton Motley
President, Less Government

David Williams
President, Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Judson Phillips
Founder, Tea Party Nation

Amy Kremer
Co-Chair, Women for Trump

Becky Norton Dunlop
Former Secretary of Natural Resources, Commonwealth of Virginia