FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Alisa Harrison, 202-628-8000

Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770

aharrison@franchise.org

mhaller@franchise.org

@franchising411

IFA RELEASES ‘TO-DO LIST’ FOR CONGRESS AND ADMINISTRATION ON EVE OF SBA NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK

WASHINGTON, May 16, 2012 – In advance of National Small Business Week, the International Franchise Association, representing the nation’s 825,000 franchise businesses which support nearly 18 million workers, today released a “To-Do List” for Congress and the administration that would give franchise owners added confidence to hire new workers and increase new franchise establishment formation. The announcement follows President Obama’s meeting with congressional leadership today urging them to implement the White House “To-Do List” for Congress.

“Small business owners are facing the prospect of the largest tax hike in our nation’s history, ongoing challenges accessing capital and the impending costs of the Affordable Care Act’s implementation. With a sputtering economy, Congress should address these issues now in order to help franchise business owners across America,” said IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira. “The small business community, and franchise owners in particular, don’t have the luxury of kicking the can down the road to make ends meet. Given the uncertainty on the policy front, inaction may be the difference between hiring or laying off workers, or worse-yet, going out of business.”

IFA’s “To-Do List” calls on Congress to act on the following measures:

• Tax Uncertainty: 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. IFA urges Congress to pass an immediate and seamless extension of the business tax-extenders this year, including the following provisions most critical to franchise businesses: 100 percent bonus depreciation, 15-year leasehold improvements, Work Opportunity Tax Credit for lower-skilled workers and the long-term unemployed, VOW to Hire Heroes Credit, and permanent repeal of the estate tax. Going forward, IFA supports tax reform as a comprehensive package, not with piecemeal fixes. Many of America’s small businesses file their taxes as LLCs, partnerships, S-corporations or sole proprietorships. Any effort for reform should lower the overall rate for both corporations and individuals.
• Access to Capital: Congress should extend the FDIC’s Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) program, which will support community bank liquidity and provide the stability needed to help them continue lending to small businesses. The TAG program allows businesses and local governments to keep their deposits in local banks by fully insuring the deposits beyond the $250,000 limit set by FDIC for insurance on all other accounts. This coverage helps community banks attract and retain deposits from local businesses and municipalities, keeping local funds invested in the community. The Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act (H.R.3461) introduced by Rep. Capito, (R-W.Va.) and Rep. Maloney, (D-N.Y.), seeks to address the timeliness of regulator examinations, adherence to examination standards and the current appeals process. This bill will go a long way to ensuring qualified mortgage holders do not lose their businesses to overzealous regulators.
• Work Force Policy: Recent decisions by the National Labor Relations Board and the U.S. Department of Labor have created additional uncertainty in the work place for franchise business owners and the small business community as a whole. These regulations include shortening the time frame for holding a union election and for the creation of small bargaining units, or micro-unions. Congress should act now to curb these new policies, which only hurt small businesses and their employees. We urge the Senate to take up the H.R. 3094, the Workforce Democracy & Fairness Act sponsored by Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), which recently passed the House.
• Repeal of Health Law Employer Mandate: Congress should pass The American Job Protection Act, H.R. 1744 sponsored by Rep. Boustany (R-La.) and S. 20, sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). According to a Hudson Institute study prepared for the IFA in September, the new health care law could result in the loss of up to 3.2 million jobs at franchise businesses due to the employer mandate provision, which forces many multi-unit franchisees who have more than 50 full-time equivalent employees to pay penalties, thereby discouraging and disincentivizing the creation of new jobs. As a first step, we urge Congress to repeal the employer mandate provision.
• Business Activity Tax Simplification (BATSA): Bipartisan legislation to address the aggressive nature of state tax nexus rulings by state departments of revenue was introduced during the 112th Congress as H.R. 1439 by Reps. Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Scott (D-Va.). The bill codifies the “physical presence” standard and eliminates confusion for state tax administrators and businesses alike. BATSA would ensure that one standard of taxation applies for taxing multi-state companies, such as most franchisors, taking some of the confusion out of interstate commerce.
• Support Veterans as Franchise Small Business Owners: IFA encourages Congress to pass legislation to help our veterans invest in their future. The Help Veterans Own Franchises Act introduced by both Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Reps. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) and Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa) and supported as part of the AGREE Act introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) would provide tax incentives for veterans returning home to invest in their own franchise business. The Franchise Education for Veterans Act (H.R. 3351), introduced by Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.), would allow veterans interested in purchasing a franchise business to use up to $15,000 in GI Bill funds to pay for franchise education and training programs.

SBA’s National Small Business Week begins May 20 in Washington, D.C. IFA is a sponsor of this year’s event. On May 21, Famous Five Restaurant Group, a franchisee of Dave’s BBQ in Tennessee and IFA member, will receive one of SBA’s National Small Business Week awards. The group, four life-long friends and entrepreneurs, are owners Mike and Tamara Lister, and Doug and Laurel Renegar. They joined to become owners of Famous Five Dining, a Famous Dave’s BBQ restaurant franchise, with the help of an SBA-guaranteed loan, expanding to five successful Famous Dave’s BBQs restaurants in Tennessee.

###

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.