08/27/07 Possible New FAA Tax Breaks

Possible New FAA Tax Break. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. Living in a rural area you get used to seeing small planes parked next to tractors and seeing crop dusters dipping low over growing fields. General Aviation or GA is a mainstay of rural life. And it is a completely different beast than commercial aviation with its roaring jets, long lines and of course high ticket prices. The FAA is currently looking for government refunding with a proposal in front of the Senate that according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association President, Phil Boyer is really about a big tax break for the FAA. BOYER: The aviation system legislation that has funded the FAA for the last 10 years, that's funding for the airports, funding for the air traffic system, the safety services expires at the end of this September. Generally this is a 10-year authorization. This time around it looks like it will be more like 5, and each time they come up, the last one was in 1997, the airlines used it as an excuse to go after a tax break if they can. Boyer is well aware of the impact agriculture has had on aviation. BOYER: Agriculture is a key part of aviation in this country and a key part of the agricultural industry. Our crop yields would be about 50% of what they are today if it were not for aviation and I can't think of an industry like agriculture that has made more use of general aviation. Owners of small piston powered planes will not be affected by this reauthorization but Boyer says a growing number of aircraft owners will. BOYER: A lot of the aviation that takes place both by people who live in rural areas and by aero-applicators is also done with turbine aircraft and that's who their going after first in this mission to lay off more costs on GA and save the airlines more money. Most all of the aerial applicators today have abandoned the piston engine typical plane and gone to fairly high-tech and expensive turboprop planes. Boyer recommends the website www.aviationacrossamerica.org as a starting place. BOYER: This is an alliance for aviation that contains many agricultural organizations; The Grange, the League of Rural Voters, etc. and that website is going to give the average individual a chance to better understand this issue and at the same time there is a place where they can register with their politician directly their thoughts about not giving the airlines a giant tax breaks on the backs of a very fragile general aviation industry. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network. http://www.aviationacrossamerica.org/ http://www.aopa.org/faafundingdebate/