September 19, 2013 – WASHINGTON, DC – As a member of the Coalition for Fair Effective Tax Rates (CFETR), Food Marketing Institute (FMI) is proud to join with hundreds of other national, state and local business organizations in supporting today’s call for comprehensive tax reform.  At a joint press conference this afternoon, the CFETR united with the Reforming America’s Taxes Equitably Coalition (RATE) to urge Congress to begin work on “comprehensive tax reform that simplifies the system by lowering individual and corporate rates and eliminating distorting tax preferences.”

Andrew Harig, director of government relations and tax expert for FMI, said, “The food retail industry has historically paid extremely high tax rates – we have a lot to gain from broad-based tax reform that reduces rates and helps to ease the complexity endemic in the current tax code. But it is not just about the tax code’s impact on businesses; there is no doubt that consumers will also reap the benefits of reform.”

“We applaud the open process that both chairmen, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), have pursued and we believe it has laid the framework for effective reform. It is now time to move forward to create a fairer, simpler tax code that offers lower effective tax rates for all industries.”

For Media: More information about the RATE Coalition and Coalition for Fair Effective Tax Rates