300-Plus Members Take Part in Advocacy Summit, Award Presentation
The International Franchise Association brought almost 350 franchisor, franchisee and supplier members to Washington, D.C., for its advocacy summit and to present its Legislator of the Year awards to six lawmakers who have strongly supported the franchise business model. The annual advocacy summit facilitates interactions between IFA members, federal legislators and policy specialists.
The franchising segment of the economy and its advocates can throw significant weight around during their visits to national legislators and policymakers. The IFA’s 2024 Economic Outlook report predicted that franchising will add approximately 221,000 jobs this year, reaching some 8.9 million jobs for the economic sector by year end. That report’s annual forecast also indicated that the output of franchised businesses, which represents the business model’s total economic activity, would increase by 4.1% to $893.9 billion this year; the total output for franchising came to $858.5 billion in 2023.
IFA’s VP Weighs In
In an IFA news release about the summit, Michael Layman, IFA senior vice president of government relations and public affairs, said this week’s meetings served “to remind lawmakers of the importance of franchised businesses to their states and districts – and why they must be protected. The IFA Advocacy Summit also enabled franchisors and franchisees to advocate on small business tax policy ahead of the inevitable tax changes coming next year. Business owners cautioned lawmakers against allowing tax increases that will harm local franchises, [with such increases being] especially critical as small businesses are still struggling with rising costs.”
During their meetings, IFA members urged U.S. senators and representatives to continue supporting franchising-backed terms of National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer rule. But perhaps more heavily emphasized was franchising’s push to extend three federal tax measures that IFA sees as vital to franchised small businesses.
Key Tax Provisions Pushed at Summit
Those three franchise-backed measures – which will be debated soon by members of Congress because many aspects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will be expiring – are:
- The permanent extension of Section 199A tax provision allowoing non-corporate taxpayers to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income.
- Restoration of 100% bonus depreciation, which aims to stimulate business development by allowing accelerated depreciation of certain assets.
- The Work Opportunity Tax Credit, or WOTC, an incentive for employers to hire workers who have faced barriers to employment.
The summit coincided with the IFA’s release of its third annual Franchisee Survey showing that 87% of franchised businesses still feel a moderate to significant impact from inflation. The results of that IFA survey also showed that 80% of franchise owners said their earnings declined during the last year because of rising prices and falling consumer demand.
IFA Honors Six Lawmakers
Two senators and four freshman members of the House of Representatives received IFA Legislator of the Year Awards. Honorees were: Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, and Democratic Reps. Don Davis of North Carolina and Hillary Scholten of Michigan and Republican Reps. John James of Michigan and Kevin Kiley of California. These lawmakers supported a resolution to overturn the NLRB’s expansion of the joint employer standard that would have made both franchisors and franchisees liable for labor infractions that occur at franchisees’ workplaces.
During the summit, the IFA delegation heard from a wide range of politicians and high-profile politicos such as Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines; former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who is currently running for the Senate; Republican Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania; Georgia State Sen. Jason Esteves, a Democrat; political analyst Bruce Mehlman; and Brody Mullins, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist.
The event concluded with a “FranFest” celebration featuring local bands that receive instruction at School of Rock franchises. Accompanists were Rep. Ashley Hinson, an Iowa Republican, on the fiddle and Democratic Kentucky Rep. Morgan McGarvey on the guitar.
