Representative Brian Mast (R-FL) has introduced legislation to prevent corporations from using out-of-state abortions or child transition procedures for employees as tax write-offs, saying, "The days of woke corporations using your tax dollars to finance a far-left agenda are over."
Rep. Mast has named the bill the No Tax Breaks for Radical Corporate Activism Act. It was created in response to corporations such as Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Ikea, Meta, and Starbucks announcing they would offer benefits related to abortion travel expenses after the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Many of these same companies offer benefits related to "gender-affirming care," joining Capitol One, Adobe, Airbnb, and Netflix in this category.
As such, Rep. Mast's bill would disallow the business expense deduction for the reimbursement of employee costs of travel to obtain an abortion or child gender transition procedures.
In his press release, the Florida Congressman said, "The days of woke corporations using your tax dollars to finance a far-left agenda are over. Too many companies have proven to be completely out of touch with American values. This bill says 'enough is enough,' and protects children across the country."
Mast's legislation is not the first to combat "wokeness" in corporate America, as Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ) of Arizona introduced a bill at the end of October called the "Stop Woke Investing Act."
Rep. Biggs explained that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can propose policy proposals to public company shareholders. Because the Biden-Harris Administration is in charge, they have been pushing Environmental Social Governance (ESG) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies onto corporations that often have little to do with their intended purpose and "are detrimental to a company's financial responsibilities to their shareholders."
"Woke activism shouldn't be placed ahead of the profitability of a public company. Businesses should not be enslaved to radical ESG priorities that pull attention away from their fiduciary responsibilities. Focusing on woke policies only serves to harm businesses, investors, and the American economy. Congress must continue fighting the weaponization of the Harris-Biden regime and its push to radicalize Americans' day-to-day lives," said Biggs in his press release.
