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Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770

Jenna Weisbord, 202-662-0766

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jweisbord@franchise.org

AHEAD OF MEMORIAL DAY, IFA PRAISES SENS. RUBIO, CASEY FOR RE-INTRODUCING BILL TO HELP VETERANS OWN FRANCHISE SMALL BUSINESSES

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2013—The International Franchise Association today praised Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for re-introducing bipartisan legislation that would help veterans own their own franchise small business. The Help Veterans Own Franchises Act would create a tax credit for veterans and their spouses who purchase a franchise. The tax credit would amount to 25 percent of the total initial franchise fee and is capped at $100,000.

“Ahead of Memorial Day and with over one million veterans transitioning out of the military service by 2015, we must continue to work hard each and every day to extend career opportunities to our nation’s veterans,” said IFA President and CEO Steve Caldeira. “Not only is this critical for the economic and social stability of veterans and their families, but it is an important component of the U.S. economic recovery.”

In 2011, IFA made the largest private sector veteran hiring commitment as part of the White House Joining Forces program. The franchising industry, through IFA’s VetFran program which has existed since 1991, committed to hire and recruit 75,000 veterans and their spouses, including 5,000 Wounded Warriors, by the end of 2014, as part of Operation Enduring Opportunity. As part of the campaign, over 64,000 veterans, military spouses and Wounded Warriors have started careers in franchising, including 4,314, who have become veteran franchise business owners, according to a report for the IFA prepared by Franchise Business Review.

“Too many of our brave men and women in uniform return home only to struggle to find employment in civilian life,” said Senator Casey. “We should do everything we can to help our veterans who have sacrificed so much to find employment. That’s why I’m introducing bipartisan legislation, the Help Veterans Own Franchises Act, to make it easier for veterans to start a small business.”

“Our nation’s veterans have served bravely and made countless sacrifices to defend this great nation,” said Senator Rubio. “Yet despite their experience and training, many are struggling to find employment in today’s job market. It is important that we do all we can to support and assist our veterans in transitioning to civilian life successfully after completing duty. This legislation will assist veterans who wish to purchase a franchise and open a business, allowing our former service men and women to invest in their careers, community, and economic security, while encouraging job creation and overall economic growth.”

“With its rapid training opportunities, scalability, and need for operational execution and excellence, franchising has proven to be an ideal structure to enable veterans to become leaders of and productive participants in the U.S. economy,” said Caldeira. “The Help Veterans Own Franchises Actwould allow veterans to build on the proven success by providing a tax credit to those returning veterans who choose to purchase a franchise and open a business in their local community.”

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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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