Is the taxman coming? » Exhibition City News

By Tommy Goodwin, Exhibition and Convention Alliance (ECA)

The votes have been tallied and the advertising has stopped (thank God!). While the 2024 elections are behind us, ECA’s work representing the business and professional events industry with newly elected legislators in Washington, D.C. is just beginning. The work begins with an issue that matters to everyone in the industry: taxes.

In 2025, tax reform will become a policy issue in Washington, D.C. Why? Key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 are set to expire at the end of this year. Extending these deadlines by 10 years would add $4.6 trillion to the U.S. deficit, and there is political pressure within the Beltway to offset at least some of that amount. what does that mean? Congress is studying the entire tax code on new income.

Over the coming weeks and months, the ECA will be working hard to ensure the taxman doesn’t come looking for us. After all, our industry currently pays $51 billion in federal taxes and $79 billion in state and local taxes across the U.S. last year, The ECA adopts a four-part tax reform agenda that will help our industry continue to drive economic growth, support job creation, empower small businesses and help solve our most pressing problems
Social Challenges.

Here’s what’s included:

Business tax rate

Business tax rates have a unique impact on our industry. Rates not only impact our small business ROI, but they also impact the number of exhibitors and attendees at business and professional events, which in turn impacts booth construction, venue staffing levels, contractor hiring, union labor hours, and more. The ECA supports competitive business rates to keep our industry growing and ensure we can continue to deliver direct and catalytic value to our customers, stakeholders and the communities in which we operate.

Private Equity Tax Treatment

Private investment has been critical to the growth of our industry over the years. Many of our small businesses have received direct support from private investors, including during the dark days of the pandemic when our entire industry was shut down in some places for 12 to 18 months. The ECA opposes any changes to the tax treatment of private equity profits and interest deductions as this would have a negative impact on an important source of investment for the future growth of our industry.

Association tax status

Nonprofit associations host 272,000 events annually, attract 52 million attendees, support 342,000 jobs and generate $42 billion in spending in communities nationwide. A change in its tax-exempt status, or an unrelated corporate income tax exemption for its activities, would jeopardize the mission-driven work funded by activity proceeds and the $35.1 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue they contribute annually. The ECA opposes any changes to the tax status of non-profit organizations and their activities that could disrupt the work of these organizations for the people they serve.

workforce development

Expanding qualified expenses under Section 529 savings plans to include postsecondary training and qualifications, including licensure and professional certifications, would transform these plans from college savings plans to career savings plans and help workers earn savings like those in our industry demand for high-paying jobs. ECA supports the inclusion of legislation such as the Future Workforce Investment Freedom Act or Section 3 of the Education and Workforce Freedom Act, which industry advocated for during last year’s ECA Legislative Action Day, into any tax package.

By 2025, the business and professional events industry will employ 2.63 million Americans and drive $426.1 billion in national spending. In Washington, D.C., the ECE will do whatever it takes to ensure the tax collectors don’t slow down the U.S. economy’s amazing growth engine.

This story originally appeared in an abridged version of Exhibit City News Q1 2025, page 17. 48. For the original layout, visit