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March 26, 2025

White House Eliminates Franchisee Burden

IFA hailed the White House’s March 21 announcement eliminating Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) for all U.S. reporting companies and all U.S. beneficial owners of foreign reporting companies. Only foreign companies will have to file their Beneficial Ownership Information reports going forward.

Why it matters: IFA has long opposed the CTA, citing the confusion from the various court rulings regarding when franchise business owners must comply and whether they must comply at all, as well as the reporting burdens that will fall on law-abiding Main Street businesses. 

Our thought bubble: IFA President and CEO Matt Haller issued a statement commending the decision, saying in part, “freed from the weight of this unnecessary government overreach, franchise small businesses can devote more energy to what they do best: providing economic mobility for the nearly 9 million jobs our model supports.”

IFA Backs Maryland Franchise Reform

In Maryland, IFA is urging the legislature to pass House Bill 992, a landmark bill establishing a first-in-the-nation pilot program aimed at streamlining franchise registration renewals in the state. 

Why it matters: Sponsored by Delegate Marc Korman, the bill is designed to ease administrative burdens and boost franchise growth by expediting franchise registration renewals, reducing delays and alleviating workload pressure on the Maryland Attorney General's office, which processes thousands of applications annually. 



The big picture: IFA has been actively working with Delegate Korman and the Maryland Attorney General's office to improve the bill for both franchisors and franchisees in the state. The bill has cleared the House and is currently being discussed in the Senate Finance Committee. 

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IFA Endorses Two Workforce Bills

This week, IFA supported two federal bills to help franchise owners comply with federal wage and hour requirements: Working Families Flexibility Act, and the Ensuring Workers Get PAID Act.

Dig deeper: The Working Families Flexibility Act would allow employers to offer employees the choice of taking their overtime pay in the traditional form of regular compensation or as paid time off from work to use at a later date, or “comp time.” The Ensuring Workers Get PAID Act would reinstate the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program allowing employers to proactively rectify any inadvertent overtime or wage violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The big picture: These bills would amend minimum wage and overtime laws governed by the U.S. Department of Labor, where Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer was sworn in earlier this month.

Watch IFA's Estate Tax Program

Recently, IFA hosted an exclusive IFA-member briefing, "Protecting the Legacy of Family Businesses and Successful Individuals in Today’s Legislative Environment," to walk through new research on the implications of tax policy changes for family-owned businesses.

Dig Deeper: The program brought together key experts to discuss the results of the 2025 Family Business Survey and valuable insights on the impact of tax law changes, the expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions, and other economic factors impacting family businesses. 

What’s next: If you missed the live session, you can access the recording here to learn more about these important developments.