Sticking It To the BizJets

The Bush Administration is trying to change the laws regarding taxes paid by airlines and private jet owners for transit through the Federal airway system:

U.S. airlines, which already share the sky with corporate jets, are pushing to share their tax burden too.

President George W. Bush is proposing to cut the amount passenger carriers such as American Airlines and Continental Airlines pay in federal taxes each year by $1.68 billion. Most of that obligation would be shifted to small-jet operators, including General Motors Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and NetJets Inc., the business-jet charter company owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

The Bush plan has touched off a fierce battle in Congress that cuts across partisan lines, with the carriers' trade association being outspent by an opposition that includes groups in rural communities that rely on smaller air-service companies.

Lawmakers say they are being inundated with calls and letters. ``I don't walk, breathe or move without being assaulted by very strong opinions on the subject,'' says Representative John Mica of Florida, the top Republican on the House Transportation Committee.

Under current law, the government collects $2,015 in taxes every time a full Boeing Co. 757-200 jet flies between New York and Florida, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. A General Dynamics Corp. Gulfstream 4 business jet flying a similar route -- and requiring the same amount of attention from air-traffic controllers -- pays $236, agency figures show.

Sharing the Burden

Under Bush's plan, the operators of the Boeing jet would pay $1,298, and owners of the Gulfstream would pay $837.

``We absolutely have been overpaying,'' says James May, 61, president of the Air Transport Association, the Washington trade group for major airlines. ``Our passengers should not be forced to continue to subsidize corporate aircraft.'' The eight largest U.S. airlines turned a profit last year for the first time since 2000.

The shift should be done for fairness, says FAA Administrator Marion Blakey: ``More small aircraft up there, fewer people in each one, and yet the costs of the FAA are the same, regardless, when you're trying to move a plane.''

I can't believe it costs the Feds $2,015 to handle an IFR airline flight. I agree that airline costs should be reduced, but I also don't believe it costs them $836 to handle a corporate jet flight of the same duration. If anything, the costs for both should be reduced in order to make the use of air transportation more cost effective for everybody. That would help the airlines, as well as help promote corporate business, and we all know what happens to tax revenues when tax rates are lowered...they go up (for the liberals in the audience).

More flying would mean more jet fuel taxes to the Treasury, and I'm sure that would more than offset the drop in fees. And then there's this:

Republican Representative Robin Hayes of North Carolina, a private pilot, says higher taxes might discourage race-car drivers from using the Nascar fleet of private jets in his district.

NASCAR has a regular air force of small and mid-sized jets that transport drivers and team members around the country, not only on weekends, but to various appearances, testing, etc. during the week. Let's not mess that up, please.