Contact: Gerry Fritz (703) 812-2062               [email protected]

For Immediate Release July 23, 2013

Arlington, Va. – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) today announced it joined the Coalition for Fair Effective Tax Rates, which supports using effective tax rates, or the percentage of income businesses pay in taxes, as the clearest way to judge the impact of tax reform on businesses. 

“The construction industry pays the highest effective tax rate in the country and those high rates have negative consequences for both businesses and the overall economy,” said ABC Vice President of Federal Affairs Geoff Burr, citing analysis by the U.S. Treasury Department. 

“As part of this coalition, ABC will join the other groups in asking members of Congress, Obama administration officials and their staffs to use effective tax rates as a basic, day-to-day way of measuring the benefit of tax changes,” Burr said. “This will lend support to legislation that broadens the tax base, while lowering rates for businesses that pay taxes at the individual level – which includes the overwhelming majority of the businesses in the construction industry.”

As a founding member, ABC is a part of the management committee for the Coalition for Fair Effective Tax Rates, which also is comprised of Associated General Contractors, International Foodservice Distributors Association, International Franchise Association, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, National Federation of Independent Business, Retail Industry Leaders Association, S Corporation Association and Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. The group represents about 500,000 businesses that range from large corporations to small companies. 

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Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national trade association representing 22,000 members from more than 19,000 construction and industry-related firms. Founded on the merit shop philosophy, ABC and its 72 chapters help members win work and deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably for the betterment of the communities in which they work. Visit us at www.abc.org.