NBAA responds to recent AP article - calls out mischaracterization and IRS audits

The NBAA spoke out against a recent article from the Associated Press about the planned audits by the IRS for companies using business aviation, claiming it devolved into mischaracterizations about the industry. NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen clapped back at the recent article. He said the readers were offered a "caricature of those who use business aviation" in the recent article. The interview with IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel spoke about the high-income earners using tax cheats to deduct private jet travel and short the government. The NBAA responded with facts. Many of the companies using business aviation are small- or medium-sized business and most of the jet travelers are midlevel employees. Business aviation can allow these companies to reach customers in small cities or rural areas outside of those being served by commercial airlines. The NBAA said studies have shown that the companies utilizing business aircraft are consistently outperforming compared with the companies that do not. BizAv flights are routinely conducted in full compliance with tax laws and Securities and Exchange Commission rules.RELATED STORY:IRS plans dozens of audits over corporate jet usage "Simply put, when you look past the mischaracterizations, the IRS's plan is nothing more than an audit in search of a problem," the NBAA said. The NBAA said the IRS is mischaracterizing an industry that is supporting 1.2 million manufacturing jobs and contributing $250 million to GDP. "Business aviation allows companies to reach customers in small cities and rural areas outside of those served by commercial airlines," Bolen wrote in a letter to news editors. "Studies have shown that companies utilizing business aircraft consistently outperform comparable companies that don't." The IRS made its plans known in February, announcing it was launching dozens of audits to determine whether, for tax purposes, the use of private jets was being properly allocated between business and personal reasons. The agency said it would crack down on private jet users, examining an area it says has not been scrutinized in the past decade. Werfel said to TribLive that the private jets in particular are an area in which "corporations are sloppy with their bookkeeping." The NBAA has spoken out since February, asking members of the aviation community to take action, using their voice to stand up for business aviation. The agency and its leader Bolen have been quick to respond to any negative speech against the BizAv community in light of the IRS plans to audit jet users. "NBAA is always working for you, and as the Biden administration ramps up its rhetoric and regulatory focus on business aviation, the association has been quick to push back," the NBAA said in its grassroots action center post.