Reminds Lawmakers That Most Of The Companies Using Business
Aviation Are Smaller Businesses
NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen repeated the business aviation
community's support for Congressional proposals to renew
accelerated, or "bonus," depreciation for investments in strategic
business assets, including aircraft in Congressional testimony
Wednesday.
In written testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Small
Business, Bolen said: "There is no doubt that bonus depreciation is
a proven incentive for businesses to accelerate replacement and
purchases of essential equipment - including general aviation
aircraft."
The Committee's hearing, held Wednesday, focused on the
importance of extending the benefits of accelerated tax
depreciation for business investments that expired at the end of
2009. Bolen noted that, among other benefits, extending the tax
policy would "help promote the sale of business aircraft, and
preserve the good-paying manufacturing jobs that come with those
sales. It will also strengthen the economic viability of all the
jobs that are created by the use of those aircraft - the associated
businesses and industries in communities surrounding general
aviation airports and facilities," he said.
Just as important, Bolen pointed out, is that stimulating
investment in general aviation aircraft for business purposes "will
enable many more American companies to continue using business
aviation to succeed."
Earlier this year, NBAA joined with more than 80 U.S.
businesses and organizations in a joint letter urging House and
Senate leaders to renew the tax incentive as one way to help
continue the nation's economic recovery. In addition, NBAA
commended the bipartisan group of House members who recently sent a
letter urging the House Ways and Means Committee to incorporate
bonus depreciation in any final version of the pending Senate Small
Business Tax legislation or similar legislation moving through
Congress this year.
More than 85 percent of companies using general aviation for
business in the U.S. are small to mid-size businesses, Bolen noted
in his testimony. Recent studies show that the most successful
companies use general aviation aircraft because it is a proven
"efficiency multiplier" that permits company employees to work
together en route, make effective use of time, including visiting
multiple locations in a single day.
The manufacture and use of business aircraft supports more than
one million jobs and contributes positively to the nation's trade
balance. Nevertheless, a continuing economic recession has weighed
heavily on the industry, which over the past year has witnessed a
raft of layoffs among aircraft manufacturers. Retaining accelerated
depreciation would help incentivize the purchase of general
aviation aircraft, and the jobs and other benefits that come with
it.
"We look forward to working with the Congress and the
Administration in the coming days to obtain legislation extending
accelerated depreciation as part of the recovery effort by
continuing the virtuous cycle of stimulating a vital industry
through tax incentives, bringing back more U.S. manufacturing jobs
and improving our trade balance, and at the same time enabling many
more American companies to continue using business aviation to
succeed," Bolen concluded.