NBAA Urges Prompt Congressional Action on Bonus Depreciation Extension

July 31, 2015

The Senate Finance Committee recently voted to extend bonus depreciation and other tax incentives (known as “tax extenders”) by two years through Dec. 31, 2016, and NBAA has urged Congress to promptly consider this and other tax extenders measures.

“Throughout its existence, bonus depreciation has been a proven economic incentive that encourages the purchase of new business aircraft, which supports aircraft manufacturers, their associated suppliers and their employees,” said Scott O’Brien, NBAA’s senior manager of finance and tax policy. “It also enables companies to invest in the overall growth of their primary businesses.”

In a joint statement, Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) said the bipartisan bill proposed “widely supported tax provisions [that would] provide some certainty in the tax code.”

Senate Finance Committee approval of this legislation is key to extending bonus depreciation or making it permanent, O’Brien said. The previous extension of bonus depreciation expired at the end of 2014. Restoring this key tax incentive would re-establish its overall economic benefit and support the ongoing legislative efforts to extend bonus depreciation and make it a permanent component of U.S. tax code.

In a related move, in the House of Representatives, Pat Tiberi (R-12-OH), along with nearly two dozen cosponsors, introduced H.R. 2510 in May to make bonus depreciation permanent.

In the Senate, several alternative proposals have been forwarded. Pat Roberts (R-KS), with Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Pat Toomey (R-PA), introduced S.1660 on June 24; this separate proposal to make bonus depreciation permanent has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee. In addition, Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), with Sens. Roberts and Blunt, introduced S.1666 on June 26 to expand and extend bonus depreciation for two years.

With the various bills and differing approaches to extenders now in play, the House and Senate will need to begin negotiating on the length of the extension, and NBAA is actively supporting the legislative efforts to extend bonus depreciation and make it permanent, said O’Brien.