Jobs Act Hits Aircraft Depreciation

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The Obama administration appears to be following through on its earlier anti-business aviation rhetoric by recommending Congress lengthen the depreciation schedule for business aircraft. According to NBAA, the administration’s proposed American Jobs Act contains a measure to change a 25-year-old depreciation schedule established by the IRS. That’s a separate issue from the current “bonus depreciation” of 100 percent of the acquisition cost of business-related goods in the first year that was passed last year. That measure runs out at the end of this year.

NBAA didn’t say how the administration wants to change the depreciation schedule for business aircraft but NBAA President Ed Bolen said the proposal is counterproductive to the Act’s apparent goal. “The president’s proposal to lengthen depreciation schedules for general aviation aircraft seems directly at odds with the stated purpose of the proposed legislation, which is to create jobs,” Bolen said. “The president himself has said shorter depreciation schedules create jobs. With that in mind, it is difficult to see how this latest proposal could support his broader goal of addressing the nation’s job crisis.” Earlier this year, President Obama and senior government officials began using business aviation as a symbol of excess and economic disparity in public statements.

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