While the Eagles and Chiefs are getting ready for the Super Bowl, policymakers on Capitol Hill have been getting ready for the ‘Super Bowl of Tax’ for years.  

What is the ‘Super Bowl of Tax’? It’s the big tax reform debate taking place in Washington, DC in 2025. Here’s the background: Key parts of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expire at the end of the year. Extending those tax breaks for 10 years would add another $4.6 trillion to the U.S. deficit, and President Donald Trump has proposed new reductions that would drive the price even higher.  

What does that mean for the trade show industry? Congress is looking at the whole tax code for new revenue to help offset the cost. 

That’s why ECA is going on offense on behalf of the industry. Last fall, ECA adopted 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 urgent societal challenges together. 

“From driving growth and investment to helping us create new jobs, the tax code has an outsized impact on our industry in the United States,” said Hervé Sedky, Emerald Holding Inc. President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chair of the ECA board of directors.  

“The 2025 tax reform debate is an important opportunity for policymakers to accelerate the U.S. industry’s competitiveness globally and ensure that we can continue to serve as a growth engine for small businesses and entrepreneurs from coast to coast.”   

Here is ECA’s pro-growth, pro-investment, pro-impact, and pro-workforce development agenda: 

Pro-growth: business tax rates 

Business tax rates uniquely affect the trade show industry. Rates not only affect our small businesses’ return on investment, but they also influence the number of exhibitors and attendees at business and professional events, which impacts booth building, venue staffing levels, contractor hiring, union labor hours, local taxes, and much more. ECA supports maintaining a competitive business tax rate that helps grow the industry and ensures that we continue to provide direct and catalytic value to our customers, stakeholders, and host communities. 

Pro-investment: private equity tax treatment 

Private capital has been vital to the growth and sustainability of the business events industry for 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 closed for business for 12-18 months in some U.S. states and cities. ECA opposes any changes to the tax treatment of private equity profits and interest deductibility that would negatively impact this important source of investment in our industry’s future growth. 

Pro-impact: association tax status 

According to the American Society of Association Executives, nonprofit associations host more than 272,000 events annually that attract nearly 52 million attendees, support 342,000 jobs, and drive $42 billion in spending in communities nationwide. Changes to their tax-exempt status, or the unrelated business income tax (UBIT) exemption for their events, would jeopardize mission-driven work funded by event proceeds. ECA opposes any alteration to the tax-exempt status of nonprofit associations and their events that could disrupt the critical work of these organizations to the industries, professions, and communities they serve. 

Pro-workforce development: 529 plan expansion 

Expanding qualified expenses under Section 529 savings plans to include post-secondary training and credentialing, such as licenses and professional certifications, would transform these plans from college savings plans into career savings plans and help workers secure in-demand, good-paying jobs like those that our industry offers. This includes industry certification programs including IAEE’s Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM) designation, IAVM’s Certified Venue Executive (CVE) and Certified Venue Professional (CVP) programs, and PCMA’s Digital Event Strategist (DES) certification. 

At its core, the trade show industry is America’s small businesses supporting America’s small businesses. That’s why ECA will be ‘all in’ on Capitol Hill this year to make sure the industry’s voice is heard on Capitol Hill and ensure that any tax policy changes help our small businesses grow and help us create new jobs. When the trade show industry wins, America wins!