AGC Founding Member of Tax Coalition on Effective Rates

AGC of America and its partners established the Coalition for Fair Effective Tax Rates which officially launched last week. The focus of the group is to persuade lawmakers opinion leaders and the public to view tax reform through the lens of effective tax rates the amount in taxes that businesses actually pay. Coalition members plan to ask members of Congress and Obama administration officials to use effective tax rates as a leading metric – and a key measure of success – as tax reform develops on Capitol Hill. Its members hope effective-tax-rate comparisons will bolster legislation that broadens the tax base while lowering rates for corporations as well as pass-through businesses.

The construction industry pays one of the highest effective corporate tax rates at 31 percent; more than double the rate some sectors pay. The Coalition also wants to impress upon lawmakers and key stakeholders that high effective tax rates have negative consequences for American businesses and the overall economy. The Coalition will take no position on any tax preference or provision. Instead it plans to concentrate on the benefits of viewing tax reform through the lens of effective tax rates with the goal of creating a fair neutral playing field across all industries and business sectors.

The Coalition – collectively representing about 1.25 million businesses – is a diverse organization whose members include a wide range of businesses from large corporations paying corporate rates to small mom-and-pop shops paying individual tax rates. All agree with the tax-writing committee chairmen on Capitol Hill that the federal tax code is broken and comprehensive tax reform is needed. Eliminating tax preferences will allow lawmakers to lower corporate and individual tax rates to promote economic growth and job creation.