Bush Donors Prepare Tax Wish List

by Leroy Baker, Tax-News.com, New York

09 January 2002

The big-business donors who backed the Bush administration during the 2000 election campaign are starting to lean on the President for tax breaks and considerations, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

Corporate lobbyists are said to be looking for tax breaks on depreciation costs, more protection against lawsuits, for any new health care measures which could increase expenses for employers to be scrapped, and for a relaxation of workplace and environmental rules.

The prospects appear good for the business sector, as Bush has not disappointed in the past: 'All spinning aside, there is a general feeling George W. Bush has been a great president for the business community,' Dirk Van Dongen, the President of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors told the WSJ.

However, despite the fact that during the first half of 2001 the Republican National Committee raised over twice the amount received by the Democrat National Committee ($143 million compared with $70 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics), the White House denies that business interests drive Mr Bush's policy decisions: 'The President's agenda is driven by what is best for the American people,' said a White House spokeswoman recently.

The Democrats clearly do not agree with this analysis, however, and according to the Wall Street Journal, are planning to make the Bush administration's relationship with its corporate donors the centrepiece of their next election campaign.

Meanwhile, speaking on his return from a vacation, the President confirmed that he would be including an economic stimulus package in his budget proposals, which will be sent to Congress in February. 'We ought to come together, we ought to unify around sensible policy, and not try to play politics with tax relief or for that matter economic stimulus packages,' he told reporters.

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