Taxpayer efforts are essential in the effort to preserve IRC Section 1031. Members of Congress need to hear from voters in their districts. Critical efforts to persuade Members of Congress not to modify or repeal like-kind exchanges are underway. Taxpayers can assist advocacy efforts by contacting their Congressional representatives by sending letters and asking their professional contacts to advocate for Section 1031. Members of Congress need to know the strong benefits of like-kind exchanges: they help taxpayers of all kinds, are not a loophole, and are a strong driver to the economy. Read more about the issue on the §1031 Repeal Issue page.
“What Can I Do to Help Prevent a Repeal of §1031?”
- Write your Congressional Representatives and Senators using our online advocacy page. Customize and send an emailed letter to Congress members explaining how important Section 1031 is to your businesses and your community.
- Refer your professional contacts to 1031taxreform.com. Ask all of your employees, referral sources, realtors and clients to contact their Congressional representatives and send a letter opposing the modifications to Section 1031.
- Share your experiences with §1031 like-kind exchanges with the FEA. When FEA representatives visit lawmakers, they can share your experiences, helping to make the case to reconsider a modification.
- Fund the effort to preserve Section 1031. FEA member companies are encouraged to make an additional membership contribution.
Contact Your Legislators
Send an email to your Representatives and Senators using the FEA online advocacy portal. This method is a fast and effective way to tell your lawmakers not to repeal §1031, a valuable economic tool. Additionally, by emailing your Congress members through this site, you can help the FEA to quantify the progress of the campaign. This information allows FEA representatives to better discuss the issue with lawmakers when they visit Capitol Hill.
After sending an email to Congress, consider other steps you can take help the campaign. Sending a personalized letter is a very convincing way to show lawmakers that this issue affects businesses and individual voters in real ways. Thoughtful, personalized constituent messages often have more influence with Congress than a large number of identical form messages.
Share Your Experiences with Like-Kind Exchanges
Have you benefited from §1031? The FEA wishes to share your experience with lawmakers to show the true benefits of like-kind exchanges. Sharing your experience can help educate and persuade Congress members that §1031 benefits real taxpayers and has a real effect on businesses across the country.
Don’t forget to include your contact information. Responses are most effective when the type, size, and city and state of the business are explicit, as legislators can see that a message came from a voter in their district.
If You Receive a Response from a Congress Member
Congress members often respond to a constituent’s message. If you do receive correspondence from your Representative, Senator, or their offices or staff, please consider sharing it with the FEA. The association uses this feedback to measure their progress, and as a discussion point when visiting legislators in their offices. Send a message to 1031taxreform@1031.org .