The National Restaurant Association praised the U.S. House for voting overwhelmingly late yesterday to pass the bipartisan tax agreement and send it to President Obama for his signature. The Association supported the compromise as a positive and effective package to strengthen our economy.
“The National Restaurant Association believes this tax agreement is vital to economic recovery, and we commend the White House and bipartisan Congressional leaders for moving this compromise package,” said Scott DeFife, Executive Vice-President for Policy and Government Affairs. “The bill will provide certainty for the next couple of years that both encourages business investment and allows consumers to keep more of their income, which will help spur more economic activity.”
“The industry has been hard hit by the downturn in the economy,” said DeFife. “Restaurant operators large and small need the measure of certainty this package will bring and could ill afford the tax increase failure to pass this agreement would have caused. President Obama and Congressional leaders in both parties deserve great credit for working together to enact this effective tax compromise to strengthen our economy.”
The Association is pleased with the following provisions included in the in the new law:
• Allow businesses to fully expense capital investments in 2011
• Extension for 2010 and 2011 of many expiring tax provisions, including 15-year depreciation for restaurant property
• Extension through 2011 of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
• Extension through 2012 of the individual rates for all taxpayers
• Estate tax treatment for 2011 and 2012 at a 35 percent rate with a $5 million exemption
• Reduction in the Social Security payroll tax for individuals from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent in 2011
The Association will continue to work for action on important items not included in the package, specifically repeal of the onerous 1099 reporting requirement enacted as part of the new healthcare law.
Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises 945,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of nearly 13 million employees. Together with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, the Association works to lead America’s restaurant industry into a new era of prosperity, prominence, and participation, enhancing the quality of life for all we serve. For more information, visit our Web site at www.restaurant.org.
Contact:
Mike Donohue
(202) 331-5902
Maureen Keith
(202) 331-5939