Twenty-Three Senators Send Message To President Obama That Fees Will Stifle Economic Recovery

It looks like user fees are not going to be imposed on GA without a fight. A bipartisan group of 23 senators has sent a letter to President Obama opposing the idea.

The November 2 letter, sponsored by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), strongly opposes the $100 per-flight tax on turbine-powered aircraft and other proposed user fees the president has offered congress as part of a deficit-reduction package. A Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction must agree by November 23 on a deficit-reduction plan with at least $1.5 trillion in savings over the next ten years.

NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen said the letter from the Senators shows they understand the value of general aviation to business. "They know that user fees would pose an onerous, hidden administrative cost for the thousands of small and mid-size businesses that rely on aircraft to succeed," he said. "We are committed to working with Senator Moran and others in the Senate and House to defeat this bad policy idea."

In the letter, the Senators state: "With 14 million Americans looking for work, our government's first priority should be to create an environment in which businesses can grow and hire additional workers.  While we agree that the deficit must be reduced, increasing taxes on corporate jets and other GA aircraft will only further stifle economic recovery,"

The letter also reminds the President that new aviation user fees have been consistently rejected by the House and Senate, and that implementing user fees in lieu of existing fuel taxes would require creation of an entirely new federal collection bureaucracy, which "seems counterproductive to deficit reduction."

"The United States cannot afford to shut down an industry, like general aviation, that contributes significantly to the nation's exports," the letter says, noting that U.S. GA manufacturers now export more than 50 percent of aircraft they produce. "This trend in exports substantiates your goal of doubling U.S. exports over the next five years."

The senators' letter also points out that general aviation employs 1.2 million people and generates $150 billion in economic activity annually, and that GA aircraft fly daily missions for emergency medical transport, aerial firefighting, law enforcement, search and rescue, disaster relief, national security and counterterrorism.

FMI: www.nbaa.org