FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770
Jenna Weisbord, 202-662-0766
mhaller@franchise.org
jweisbord@franchise.org
IFA RESPONSE TO BRT LETTER: SMALL BUSINESSES CREATE JOBS, NOT CORPORATE CEO’S
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2012 — IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira issued the below statement today following a letter delivered to Congress from the Business Roundtable (BRT), an association of some of America’s largest multinational corporations, which stated that higher tax rates on individual taxpayers should be considered to avert the fiscal cliff.
“It is unfortunate that America’s largest CEOs, many of which have been courted by President Obama’s recent charm offensive, seem so out of touch with what this country needs right now—more jobs. The majority of job creation, 65 percent of all net new jobs, comes from the small business community, including franchise business owners who operate small businesses under the world’s most well-known brands and have been growing at a more rapid rate over the past decade than all other types of businesses.
“Every dollar that Washington takes from small businesses in the form of higher tax rates is one less dollar that goes into a new job being created. A lower corporate tax rate that will keep American businesses more competitive in an increasingly global economy is critically important, but it cannot come on the backs of the small business community, which is why corporate reform must be linked with individual reform. It is easy for corporate CEO’s to call for a tax increase that does not affect their companies.
“Congress must address the impending fiscal cliff and commit to producing a comprehensive tax reform bill that lowers both corporate and individual filers by a certain date, which would create both short-term certainty and long-term growth for the franchise industry and the overall small business community.”
IFA stands by its letter delivered on Nov. 14 signed by the CEOs of 51 franchise brands, calling on Congress to address the impending fiscal cliff without raising rates and urged lawmakers to commit to produce a tax reform bill that addresses both corporate and individual reform by a certain date. To view that letter, click here.
###
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.