A proposed $50 million tax break on jet fuel which would primarily benefit Delta is in jeopardy after the airline eliminated a discount for the N. R. A.<\/b>
\nThe lieutenant governor in Georgia threatened on Monday to kill a proposed lucrative tax cut for Delta Air Lines after the company eliminated a discount fare program for the National Rifle Association over the weekend.
The move by Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who presides over the State Senate, immediately put the legislation in jeopardy and put him at loggerheads with other top state officials, including the governor, who had championed the tax deal. The showdown between one of Georgia\u2019s most powerful politicians and one of the state\u2019s largest employers was the latest clash in a national debate around guns after the deadly school shooting in Florida this month.
Mr. Cagle, a Republican, fired the salvo at Delta on Twitter on Monday afternoon, saying that the Atlanta-based company must restore its program with the N. R. A. \u201cCorporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back,\u201d Mr. Cagle, who had expressed his support for the bill earlier this month, said on Twitter .
Mr. Cagle, who received an A+ grade by the N. R. A. when he was running for his position in 2006, did not return a call seeking comment on Monday evening. A spokeswoman for Gov. Nathan Deal, who had said the tax bill was necessary to encourage airlines to open direct routes from Georgia to destinations around the world, did not return an email seeking comment.
Other Republicans in the State Legislature also on Monday pulled back their support for the bill, which would grant a $50 million sales tax exemption on jet fuel, primarily benefiting Delta. Among the new critics was the House speaker, David Ralston, who said on Monday that he was disappointed with Delta and wished it had announced the decision before the House approved the tax bill on Thursday. The legislation moved the next day to the Senate, where it seemed to have broad support.
But on Saturday, that support all but evaporated after Delta announced it had eliminated a discount fare program for travelers to attend the N. R. A.\u2019s 2018 annual meeting in May. The airline, which had come under growing pressure from its customers and others to cut ties with the gun group, said its decision \u201creflects the airline\u2019s neutral status in the current national debate over gun control amid recent school shootings.\u201d
Delta said in a statement on Saturday that it supported the Second Amendment but has refrained from political issues before. The airline noted that it withdrew financial support of a New York production of \u201cJulius Caesar\u201d last summer because it depicted the assassination of a Trump-like Roman ruler.
In the days after the shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., more than a dozen companies, including MetLife Insurance, Symantec and Enterprise, cut ties with the N. R. A. Many were being threatened with boycotts over the deals and discounts they had offered to the gun group\u2019s members.
Also on Monday, FedEx made an unusual move by declaring its opposition to the N. R. A.\u2019s stance on gun policy and safety while saying it \u201cdoes not and will not deny service or discriminate against any legal entity regardless of their policy positions or political views.\u201d
FedEx said that the N. R. A. was one of hundreds of organizations whose members receive discounts on shipping rates. It also pushed for \u201curgent action\u201d from local, state and federal politicians to prevent future mass shootings.
\u201cFedEx opposes assault rifles being in the hands of civilians,\u201d the company said in a statement. \u201cWhile we strongly support the constitutional right of U. S. citizens to own firearms subject to appropriate background checks, FedEx views assault rifles and large-capacity magazines as an inherent potential danger to schools, workplaces, and communities when such weapons are misused.\u201d
Over the weekend, celebrities like Julianne Moore, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Zach Braff posted their plans to boycott FedEx until the company stopped partnering with the N. R. A.<\/p>\n

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