Avionics News November 2011 - (Page 14)

In this monthly column, Ric Peri of the AEA’s Washington, D.C., office, informs members of the latest regulatory updates. b y R I C P E R I V I C E P R ES I D E N T o F G oV E R N M E N T & I N D U ST Ry A F FA I RS Fo R A EA There Are No Free Lunches ating back to the 19th century, the phrase, “there is no such sible employment benefits of this proposal will be paid for on the thing as a free lunch,” is as much a mainstay of today’s backs of people who work in aviation, support aviation or utilize economics as it was in the 1930s and 40s when the term aviation for business and pleasure. was first published. For the last couple of years, you have heard the So, why the bait and switch on taxes and fees? For a long time, I repetitive call for “user fees” for various aviation services, most rehave struggled with this concept. Back in September, I drove from cently with the proposal from this White House administration burWashington, D.C., up to the AOPA Aviation Summit in Hartford, ied in the “American Jobs Act of 2011,” commonly referred to as the Conn. Just north of Baltimore, the interstate system becomes a toll “Jobs Bill.” road and continues nearly the entire way to Hartford. For those of While the political speak here in Washington focuses on the you in other parts of the world, the idea of toll roads may be a bit business aircraft sector because some survey showed certain sectors of the voting population respond negatively when they hear the During a recent conversation, i noted how many people phrase, the Jobs Bill actually proposes to add the computer has displaced. my friend responded with the the $100 “take off” fee to every turbine-pownumber of customer service jobs that have been created to ered aircraft. That’s right, a tax on anyone flyfix what the computer has messed up. Good point. ing for business or pleasure in a turbine-powered aircraft. But, there is more. The proposal also doubles the security fee immediately and triples it by 2017, and it changes the business depreciation for genforeign. However, for those of us living with toll roads, we buy an eral aviation aircraft from seven to 12 years. automatic toll transmitter to pay the nearly continuous tolls. It’s just Section 284 establishes the Public Safety Broadband Corp. to prothe price of driving here. The major toll roads extend from Chicago mote the construction and development of a national public safety to New York and from Washington to Massachusetts. And nearly evnetwork. Section 290 further allows the corporation to charge fees ery powerful politician in Washington is from a state where toll roads for the use of the public safety broadband network’s capacity, includare common. This may explain why the politicians keep proposing ing public safety users and commercial users, on a secondary basis. aviation tolls – oops, fees. It also requires that fees cover the operations of the network after I recently explained to a friend that tolls are just another tax. When the initial expenditure of federal funds, and that proceeds from fees driving on the U.S. interstate system with a toll, you are paying triple be reinvested in the network. In addition, Section 278 provides the taxes for the pleasure of driving on this expressway. U.S. interstates FCC with the authority to establish, assess and collect fees for initial are funded by federal tax dollars with matching state tax money spectrum licenses and construction permits. collected from fuel taxes. When the state adds a toll to the road, it So, while there are some initially desirable employment considerbecomes a third tax – and nobody notices. Add an aviation toll to airations in this proposed bill, there is no free lunch. Half of the money craft operators, passengers and cargo, and maybe no one will notice. collected in the proposed fees would go into the general fund with There are no free lunches. the other half of the fees earmarked for deficit reduction. The posHave you followed the political debate in the U.S. on the jobs bill? 14 avionics news D • november 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News November 2011

Point of Communication
AEA Now
The View From Washington
International News and Regulatory Updates
EVS
Member Profile
High Plains Possibilities
Electronic Engine Instruments
A Conversation With...
Crisis Aloft?
Meet the AEA Board
Aviation Aces
Business Basics
Pro*to*col
Legal Ease
Advertisers Index
Theory & Practice
What's New
Marketplace Classifieds

Avionics News November 2011