April 3, 2015
On March 26, The Huffington Post website published a blog by U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) titled, “The GOP Budget: Every Tax Loophole is Sacred,” in which he mischaracterized business aircraft tax-depreciation policy as a “loophole.” In response, NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen strongly challenged Whitehouse’s assertions, noting: “A debate over tax-code reform is certainly worthwhile, but in having that debate, we shouldn’t target specific industries, or modes of transportation – especially those like business aviation, which benefit citizens, companies and communities across the U.S.,” Bolen noted.
Read the full blog post and NBAA comment on the Huffington Post website.
Your recent column, (The GOP Budget: Every Tax Loophole is Sacred) unfortunately mischaracterized business aviation, which is the manufacture and use of a small aircraft for business purposes; it’s also an important segment of America’s economy and transportation system.
For starters, your column – focused on the tax-schedule against which companies pay for buying and using business aircraft – didn’t make clear that Congress and the IRS long ago set the tax schedule for a host of business investments: computers, construction equipment, and yes, business airplanes, recognizing that these assets optimize productivity, efficiency, flexibility and competitiveness. Those assets are what companies need in today’s mercilessly competitive global business environment; and studies have shown that, in this environment, companies using their own aircraft consistently outperform those that do not. Equally important, the column didn’t note that the use of business airplanes contributes significantly to the productivity the nation’s economy, generating $219 billion every year and supporting more than 1.1 million American jobs.
A debate over tax-code reform is certainly worthwhile, but in having that debate, we shouldn’t target specific industries, or modes of transportation – especially those like business aviation, which benefit citizens, companies and communities across the U.S.
Sincerely,
Ed Bolen
President and CEO
National Business Aviation Association
Washington, DC
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.