• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, December 27, 2017

We may never know what impact paid media played in influencing the outcome of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017,” which signed into law by President Donald J. Trump on Dec. 22, but we do know how much was spent, thanks to an analysis by political media-buying and issues advertising tracker Advertising Analytics. 

“We’ve tracked about $35.5m spent on advertising related to the tax reform effort this year,” estimates the firm’s Research Analyst Joseph Wright, adding, that more than two-thirds (69.6% or $24.4 million) was spent by advocacy groups in favor of the proposals, while less than a third (30.4% or $10.5 million) was spent on ads opposing the legislation.

“Spending took off the first week of August, after the failure of the [Affordable Care Act] repeal effort,” Wright notes, adding, “The largest spender by far has been American Action Network, with about $12 million spent across the country supporting the House’s tax reform efforts.”

The other top five spenders (pro or con) were:

• 45Committee (pro): $3.75 million

• Not One Penny (con): $3.44 million

• Citizens for Responsible Tax Reform (con): $2.94 million

• Americans for Prosperity (pro): $2.16 million