U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) says that by paying for employees' abortions and financing so-called "gender-affirming care" for their children, "corporate elites have gone full crazy." In response, he's filed legislation that he says will prevent taxpayers from subsidizing "corporate activism."
Rubio introduced the "No Tax Breaks for Radical Corporate Activism Act" on Tuesday, a bill that would prohibit employers from deducting expenses related to paying travel costs for employees who want an abortion, medical costs for employees seeking cross-sex hormones, or puberty-blockers for their children. The bill comes in response to several major companies that have announced new employee abortion benefits in recent weeks, including Amazon, Yelp, Citigroup, and others.
Federal tax law permits businesses to deduct certain expenses that are considered "ordinary and necessary" for operating, including employee health care plans, some medical expenses, and other related benefits. Rubio's bill would "deny the trade or business expense deduction for the reimbursement of employee costs of child gender transition procedure or travel to obtain an abortion."
“Our tax code should be pro-family and promote a culture of life. Instead, too often our corporations find loopholes to subsidize the murder of unborn babies or horrific 'medical' treatments on kids," Rubio said in a statement. "My bill would make sure this does not happen."
In anticipation that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision — a landmark legal precedent that established a constitutional right to an abortion — pro-life lawmakers in several states have advanced laws banning or restricting abortions. If Roe is overturned, as a leaked Supreme Court majority opinion suggests it will be, 26 states have so-called trigger laws or unenforced laws on the books that would ban or severely restrict abortion access.
Several major corporations have responded by committing to pay for pregnant employees in those states to travel out of state if they want to kill their unwanted child. Amazon, the second largest private employer in the U.S., on Monday became the latest company to do so, offering to pay up to $4,000 annually in travel expenses for any pregnant employee who travels more than 100 miles for an abortion.
In an op-ed for Newsweek, Rubio criticized these companies for supporting "abortion tourism," as well as Disney for offering to pay for gender transition "care" for children of its employees.
"While the radical Left drives this insanity, the law enables it,' Rubio wrote. "The current U.S. tax code allows employers to deduct employee compensation and benefits. Because a lot can fall under that umbrella, the code also specifies certain expenses that don't qualify for tax breaks. But there is no provision that prohibits Citigroup and others from deducting abortion and gender transition costs. As a result, these corporations may be able to help their employees kill their unborn children or transition their son into a daughter tax-free!
"This has to change. Businesses should not receive tax breaks for radical leftist activism, especially when that activism jeopardizes our children. Our tax code should encourage family formation and promote a culture of life. Instead, it too often encourages subsidies for the murder of unborn babies and the performance of horrific 'medical' treatments on kids," he said.
