Groups Battle Anti-GA ‘Rhetoric’

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Aviation groups have been quick to react to remarks by President Obama’s Press Secretary Jay Carney, who likened the depreciation schedule on business aircraft to a “loophole.” Carney included the reference in a question-and-answer session with the White House press corps after remarks by Obama on tackling government debt. Derision of business aviation has been a common theme with the current administration when it discusses its goals to increase tax contributions by the wealthy, but both the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) say the remarks are not only unfair, they’re wrong.

“Politics in Washington continues to demonstrate that facts can be conveniently overlooked when one is trying to point fingers and score sound bites,” said GAMA President Pete Bunce. “Their rhetoric is wrong and all it does is hurt general aviation companies and workers across this country.” Both Bunce and NBAA President Ed Bolen noted that aircraft are one of thousands of durable items that qualify for depreciation schedules as a means of encouraging businesses to invest in new products. “The bottom line is that the White House’s rhetoric about general aviation depreciation ignores established facts and long-standing tax policies related to business airplane ownership and use, does almost nothing to seriously address the nation’s debt and has the potential to harm a great American industry in the process,” said Bolen.

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