Youtube/NRF
A parody commercial mocking House Republicans’ proposed tax on imports will run this weekend during “Saturday Night Live.”
The commercial was produced by the National Retail Federation, a retail trade organization, as part of a campaign to rally opposition to the provision, which would impose a tariff on imports.
Retailers would be hit hard by the tax: an estimated 97% of all clothing and footwear sold in the US is imported.
The infomercial sarcastically jokes about the “benefits” of the BAT:
“Too much dough got you feeling low? Too much cash breaking your back? Then you need… the BAT TAX!”
According to NRF, the retail sector provides one out of four U.S. jobs, or 42 million positions, and is America’s largest private-sector employer. The BAT tax could put millions of these jobs at risk, the NRF says.
“As a special bonus, we’ll include the new job-killing formula — for free,” the commercial jokes.
According to the NRF, the ad began airing on Tuesday on the Fox News’ morning show, “FOX and Friends,” which President Donald Trump is known to watch.
“BAT could cause retailers to see tax bills three to five times the amount of their profits,” the NRF said in a press release accompanying the ad. “The small retailers that make up 98 percent of the retail industry and provide 40 percent of its jobs would be at the biggest risk.”
NRF claims that the effects of this new tax will be passed on to the consumer. The organization expects costs of everyday necessities like food, gas, clothing and prescription medicines for the average family to increase by as much as $ 1,700 in the first year.
Major US retailers, including Target and Walmart, have expressed their concerns with the tax and are rallying behind the NRF.
“The border adjustment tax, for us, is a concern,” Walmart CFO Brett Biggs said on a call with reporters in February. “Clearly anything that would potentially raise prices for our customers in the US is a concern for us.”
The infomercial calls for consumers to contact their members of Congress and express opposition.
Watch the full ad here:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/23SXAYWZHc8
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Height: 315px
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