NBAA Opposes Onerous New White House Proposal – You Can, Too

Feb. 9, 2015

When President Obama released his fiscal year 2016 budget proposal on Feb. 2, which again focused on business aviation with a renewed effort to lengthen the tax-depreciation period for business aircraft from five years to seven, NBAA was quick to respond, issuing a forceful statement challenging the White House’s plan. Read NBAA’s response to the White House budget proposal in its entirety.

Periodicals including Roll Call, a leading Capitol Hill daily newspaper read by members of Congress and their staff, published the comments from NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “It doesn’t make sense to single out one industry without the benefit of careful analysis of the impact his proposal would have,” Roll Call said in its story, published the day after the president’s budget proposal was released.

“Depreciation schedules that allow deductions to be taken closer to when a purchase is made incentivize many kinds of capital investments, including in aircraft.” Bolen continued. “The current depreciation schedule does just that, which not only helps American businesses be more competitive, but also preserves jobs in America’s vital aircraft-manufacturing industry.” Read the Roll Call article, featuring Bolen’s response, in its entirety.

Administration officials have referred to the five-year schedule as a “loophole” that disproportionately benefits those who can afford business aircraft. However, media outlets, which have researched the topic, as well as industry advocates, say the schedule is an effective driver of economic investment that dates back decades, and applies to a wide variety of equipment classes, from construction vehicles to aircraft. Read more about media challenges to the Obama administration.

Congress will soon start considering President Obama’s proposed fiscal year 2016 budget, and that’s where NBAA Members can help. NBAA is urging its Members to use NBAA’s Contact Congress resource, located on the Association’s website, to make their voices heard on the administration’s proposal.

NBAA’s Contact Congress tool provides an easy way for Members to voice their views on the need to reject the administration’s attempt to change the depreciation schedule, so that companies can benefit from the use of airplanes as a business asset, and so that manufacturing jobs will be protected.

Each Contact Congress message is customized for the sender, and each message can be edited, to a sender’s specifications. Also, NBAA never discloses senders’ information to other parties. View NBAA’s Contact Congress resource, and send your message to lawmakers today.

Following the release of the administration’s budget proposal, Christa Fornarotto, NBAA’s vice president of government affairs, noted that NBAA has updated its website information on the issue, and added: “Requiring more time to depreciate the cost of business aircraft would discourage investment in them, threatening jobs along the way,” she said. View NBAA’s resources on bonus depreciation.