NAAA joined a letter from national and regional agricultural
leaders to congressional leaders underscoring the financial challenges suffered
by rural-based general aviation businesses across the country due to the
economic effects of coronavirus containment. It stated, “General
aviation operations are down by more than 70% across the nation, and some
smaller airports facing traffic declines of up to 95%. Over a thousand
rural communities have already been affected by this crisis, and this is
exacerbated by the fact that over 11 million Americans live in a county that
does not have a hospital, and an additional 18 million live in a county with no
intensive care unit.”
The letter requested that “As Congress considers a fourth
relief package…fuel taxes paid by non-commercial operators also be suspended.
This temporary suspension of taxes is similar to what the commercial airlines received
and will assist thousands of small businesses,farms, and communities that
depend on general aviation.” Fuels used to make aerial application for
farming purposes are currently tax-exempt by law due to NAAA’s past efforts,
however, this tax exemption for general aviation would cover other aerial
applications made that are not farming related if enacted by Congress.
The letter requested that “As Congress considers a fourth
relief package…fuel taxes paid by non-commercial operators also be suspended.
This temporary suspension of taxes is similar to what the commercial airlines received
and will assist thousands of small businesses, farms, and communities that
depend on general aviation.” Fuels used to make aerial application for
farming purposes are currently tax-exempt by law due to NAAA’s past efforts,
however, this tax exemption for general aviation would cover other aerial
applications made that are not farming related if enacted by Congress.
The letter justifies the
importance that general aviation serves in rural communities to “sustain our food
supply, and help … farms survey and monitor crops and farmland. In fact, each year, the agricultural aviation industry treats 127
million acres of cropland. And, general aviation across the country supports
$247 billion in economic impact annually and 1.2 million American jobs.”
The letter was directly addressed to U.S. House of
Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Charles
Schumer.