TAXING THE RICH: President Joe Biden used his State of the Union speech last week to call for corporations and billionaires to pay more into the American tax rolls, including a declaration that he wanted to end tax breaks for private jets. So far the White House hasn’t put out any such proposal, but billionaires with their own planes are an easy messaging target in an election year. (The IRS is, however, auditing business jets and how they’re used as tax write-offs, which was referenced in a fact sheet preceding his speech.)
Not surprisingly, trade groups disagree. On Friday, the National Business Aviation Association, which represents business jet owners, pushed back against Biden’s speech, with President Ed Bolen saying business jets are “essential” to America’s economy, supporting jobs and connecting communities. “This is an industry that should be promoted, not pilloried,” he said. The Alliance for Aviation Across America, which represents general aviation interests, said Biden’s swipe was unfair and reinforced an “inaccurate stereotype” of the business aviation industry.
Backstory: It’s not the first time the White House has gunned for private jets — in 2011 and again in 2013, then-President Barack Obama targeted corporate jet owners who he said enjoyed “a tax break that no other business enjoys.” And NBAA at the time didn’t much like those remarks, either.