FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jenna Weisbord, 310-995-0839
jweisbord@franchise.org
@franchising411
IFA Statement Applauding Senate Tax Reform Passage
IFA to Continue Pushing for Franchise Provisions in Conference Committee
(Washington, D.C.) Dec. 2, 2017 – The International Franchise Association President & CEO Robert Cresanti released the statement below praising the commitment and hard work put forth by lawmakers following the passage of the Senate tax bill, marking a historic step towards modernizing the current tax code for the first time in over three decades and urged conferees to continue working toward ensuring all franchise businesses can take advantage of historic tax relief.
“We applaud Senate Leadership and the Finance Committee members for listening to the concerns of business owners and working to ensure small businesses see tax relief. For years, the burdensome and complex tax code has held back small business owners and stifled new investments. With two-thirds of new jobs being created by small businesses and 80 percent of franchises filing as pass-through entities, important changes were made in the final days for these franchise small businesses.”
IFA voiced strong support for the Senate bill following two changes advocated for by Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Steve Daines (R-MT): Raising the pass-through deduction rate from 17.4 to 23 percent, which was included in the final Senate bill, and amendment 1814. Introduced by Sen. Daines (R-MT), amendment 1814 would allow franchises to qualify for new deductions for pass-through income without any exceptions for so-called professional services businesses, and eliminate the 50 percent cap on W-2 income that can be deducted for franchises. Because of the unique nature of the franchise business model, the placement of w-2 wages may not be in the same business unit and thus would hamstring these small businesses if the cap is not removed.
“With Congress now on the precipice of one of the most important economic bills in a generation, we look forward to working to get this across the finish line. As House and Senate leaders move toward conference, including amendment 1814 introduced yesterday by Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) is the only way all of America’s 733,000 franchise businesses will be able to fully take advantage of the new, lower tax rates for pass through businesses,” added Cresanti.
For more information on the amendment please click here.
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About the International Franchise Association
Celebrating 56 years of excellence, education and advocacy, the International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 733,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 7.6 million direct jobs, $674.3 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy and 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology and business development.