FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact:

Alisa Harrison, 202-628-8000

Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770

aharrison@franchise.org

mhaller@franchise.org

@franchising411


IFA CALLS ON CONGRESS TO EXTEND EXPIRING TAX PROVISIONS

Lobbying campaign to educate lawmakers about importance of extenders to job creation


WASHINGTON, April 26, 2012 – The International Franchise Association today called on Congress to extend a series of expiring tax provisions critical to business owners and workers in the franchise small business industry and announced an expanded lobbying and advocacy effort to pass the provisions before years-end.


“Congress should extend these provisions as soon as possible. By allowing these provisions to expire at the end of 2011, Congress already has placed a great deal of uncertainty on franchise owners who could be using this revenue to access capital to make investments and create jobs,” said IFA Vice President of Government Relations & Public Policy Jay Perron in a statement for the record submitted before the House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures. “If these provisions go unaddressed in 2012, small business owners will continue to put off investments and hiring decisions, undermining the economic recovery.”


Many tax extenders that were allowed to expire in 2011 support a wide range of activities that help spur economic growth, job creation and job retention in the franchise industry. Despite bicameral, bipartisan support for these provisions, Congress failed to extend them in 2011. IFA joined colleagues in the business community recently to ask Congress to pass an immediate and seamless extension of the business tax-extenders this year which is critical to small businesses, rather than a piecemeal, one-off approach.


IFA is engaged in a Capitol Hill lobbying and grassroots advocacy campaign to educate Ways & Means Committee members and other freshman lawmakers about the economic benefit of the below extenders to the franchise industry and their ability to support the franchise industry’s forecast for job creation this year. IFA believes the below provisions would be most critical to franchise businesses this year and should be included in the extenders package this year:


  • 100 percent bonus depreciation,

  • 15-year straight-line recovery for qualified leasehold improvements,

  • Restaurant improvements and new construction, and retail improvements,

  • Work Opportunity Tax Credit for lower-skilled workers and the long-term unemployed, among others.

  • VOW to Hire Heroes Credit

  • Permanent Repeal of Estate Tax


“Moving forward now with only some of these extenders, while leaving others aside, would only heighten the uncertainty causing many small business owners to delay plans for job creation,” said Perron.


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About the International Franchise Association

The International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. Celebrating over 50 years of excellence, education and advocacy, IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising. Through its media awareness campaign highlighting the theme, Franchising: Building Local Businesses, One Opportunity at a Time, IFA promotes the economic impact of the more than 825,000 franchise establishments, which support nearly 18 million jobs and $2.1 trillion of economic output for the U.S. economy. IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law and business development.

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