Leaked memo details Koch Bros' astroturf strategy to lower US corporate tax rate

A strategy memo circulated around the time of a Koch network retreat sets out a five-part plan to pressure the Trump regime to lower corporate taxes and pass other policies favorable to corporate elites and the investor class.


Of significant interest is the Kochs' plan to mobilize "grassroots" efforts to convince lawmakers that everyday working Joes want corporations to pay less tax.


The meta-data of the document shows that it was created by Avery Boggs, a former vice president at Freedom Partners, the umbrella group that oversees the Koch political network. Boggs now works as a vice president at In Pursuit Of, a public relations firm spun off from the Koch network designed to provide marketing services to the various groups that receive funding from Freedom Partners.

The Koch network includes a range of political advocacy organizations, each designed to play a particular role in advancing causes and candidates backed by the billionaire energy tycoons and their allies. Americans for Prosperity, for instance, has about 500 paid staffers, and plays a leading role in organizing broad grassroots campaigns. Another group, Concerned Veterans for Americans, focuses on mobilizing veterans. The network includes i360, a campaign data company that developed intricate profiles of voters.


KOCH BROTHERS ORCHESTRATE GRASSROOTS EFFORT TO LOWER CORPORATE TAXES, DOCUMENTS SHOW [Lee Fang and Nick Surgey/The Intercept]


(Image: Gage Skidmore, CC-BY-SA