Bill Includes Bonus Depreciation For Business Assets ... Such As Airplanes

President Barack Obama (pictured) signed the Small Business Jobs Act Monday afternoon, a bill which could help spur the still-slumping sales of business airplanes.

The part of the bill in which the aviation community has had such a keen interest is an extension of what is known as "bonus depreciation." The White House blog describes it as "Extension and Expansion of Small Businesses’ Ability to Immediately Expense Capital Investments: The bill increases for 2010 and 2011 the amount of investments that businesses would be eligible to immediately write off to $500,000, while raising the level of investments at which the write-off phases out to $2 million. Prior to the passage of the bill, the expensing limit would have been $250,000 this year, and only $25,000 next year. This provision means that 4.5 million small businesses and individuals will be able to make new business investments today and know that they will earn a larger break on their taxes for this year."

"Now this is important because small businesses produce most of the new jobs in this country," Obama said in signing the bill. "They are the anchors of our Main Streets. They are part of the promise of America – the idea that if you’ve got a dream and you’re willing to work hard, you can succeed. That’s what leads a worker to leave a job to become her own boss. That’s what propels a basement inventor to sell a new product – or an amateur chef to open a restaurant. It’s this promise that has drawn millions to our shores and made our economy the envy of the world."

The first reaction came quickly from GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce, who released the following statement just following President Obama's signature on the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010:
 
"GAMA is pleased that President Obama has signed the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 into law. The bonus depreciation provision included in the bill, which can be applied to both general aviation aircraft purchases and components such as engines and avionics, will allow operators to take advantage of this critical incentive before the end of this year. As the one tax provision we asked Congress to pass to help offset the decline in sales due to the recession, we are optimistic that the small business law will help to re-energize America's general aviation production lines and bring back lost jobs."

But whether the move come in time to help the still-sluggish aircraft manufacturing sector remains to be seen. Just last week, both Hawker Beechcraft and Cessna announced that they would be idling more than 1000 workers between the two companies in Wichita because business aircraft sales had not seen the kind of recovery they had anticipated earlier this year.

FMI: www.whitehouse.gov, www.gama.aero