SF lawmaker wants to block tax breaks for companies helping build border wall

President Donald Trump has come to the golden state for a visit. First to San Diego to look at prototypes for his wall, then to Los Angeles for a fundraiser. Coinciding with the president’s visit, San Francisco assemblyman Phil Ting has introduced Assembly Bill 2355, a proposal that would remove or block tax breaks for California companies that contract to aide in the construction of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I believe it’s a waste of California taxpayer dollars to help subsidize this wall,” said Ting. “We want to send a message to all companies that are in California thinking about being a part of this (border wall) process to really stand with the state, stand with the residents and stand with American values which welcome people from all over the world.”

Ting’s bill would prevent companies that profit from the wall’s construction from receiving tax credits, like “those given for hiring new employees, buying or using certain manufacturing and research equipment or for promoting alternative energy and advanced transportation,” according to the LA Times.

In a 2017 poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, 73 percent of Californians oppose the U.S.-Mexico border wall. Ting suggested using the funding instead on the state’s dreary transportation infrastructure.

Most recently, the Trump administration sued California, claiming the state’s sanctuary city laws interfere with the federal government’s ability to crack down on illegal immigration. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the lawsuit last week in Sacramento.

• No tax breaks for building Trump’s wall, lawmaker says [Sacto Bee]
• On the eve of Trump’s visit, state lawmaker proposes cutting tax breaks for companies that help build border wall [LA Times]
• President Trump’s Beverly Hills Fundraiser Expected to Raise $5 Million [KTLA]
• San Francisco considers blacklisting construction companies that bid on border wall [Curbed SF]