IS THE TIME (airline flights) RIGHT - AIRCRAFT OWNERSHIP
No commentsBy gennew05
In the hours and days immediately following the tragic attacks on America of 9/11, there was much speculation about the effects on the general aviation industry. While the events of September 11, 2001 have had a significant impact on the economy as a whole, sales of personal aircraft in Michigan have experienced a surprising boost. Certainly, the convenience of personal transportation has played a major role in this increase as airport lines and security have become more time consuming. The reduction of flights resulting from the airline cost-cutting have limited flexibility for the business person and affected the productivity of companies relying on commercial transportation.
These factors alone cant explain surge of people joining the flying community for more than just pleasure. Rebates, low and 0% interest rates, training allowances, and yes, even the IRS played a role in creating an environment that has introduced more people to the benefits of aircraft ownership and had an effect similar to that seen after the passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1995.
The IRS is here to help you? Well, believe it or not, a new tax law passed earlier this year represents a renewed attempt by our nations leaders to jumpstart the economic recovery. The bill applies to new airplanes acquired after September 10, 2001, and before September 11, 2004, and provides tax savings from economic stimulus provisions included in the Internal Revenue Code designed to encourage investment in capital assets. Visit your local airport and youre sure to see plenty of forty and fifty year old aircraft operating for both business and pleasure. Even prior to the new tax law, Congress recognized that capital investment is an important part of our economy, and therefore allowed a five year depreciation of these assets. To further encourage investments, they do not require the depreciation to be spread evenly over the five years, but through a concept know as double declining balance, greatly accelerate depreciation during the first two years of ownership. Now with the additional incentives of 30% bonus depreciation on new airplanes, tax deferral opportunities are greatly expanded.
So how might a business person benefit from these new changes? First of all, the impact of these depreciation changes greatly reduce net cash investment for the purchase of a new airplane. Specifically, an operator in the 40% tax bracket who can successfully write off his aircraft ownership expense may have no cash investment in the airplane during the first four years. Additionally, when properly structured, many taxpayers have an opportunity to convert personal use into business use. The Internal revenue code provides an optional method of taxing an individual for personal use of an aircraft which many times amounts to less than 10% of the actual deductions flowing from the investment. Consult your tax professional prior to purchasing your new airplane or ask your Aircraft Dealer for the name of an Aviation Tax Specialist to set up your purchasing entity.
And you say youre not a pilot? Local aircraft dealers like Suburban Aviation, Inc. in Lambertville, Michigan will actually teach you to fly your new airplane and even reimburse your expenses when you purchase a new Cessna airplane from them. Most of todays pilots learned to fly in a Cessna airplane and the majority of these pilots continue to experience the freedom and flexibility that flight offers in one of Cessnas many single engine models. For 75 years, Cessna has been the leader in general aviation aircraft providing a safe and reliable alternative to commercial airlines and the automobile.
So if your business can benefit from improved efficiency and tax savings, why not consider a company airplane? There are few tax saving opportunities as effective as fully depreciating an aircraft on a five year accelerated basis, and with todays interest rate environment, a well-structured transaction often results in little or no after tax cash flow holding costs during the early years of ownership. Of course, arriving at your meeting on time and with all your luggage can also be pretty convincing!
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Aviation: Having Fun in the Sky
By Adrian Adams
Aviation in America has a long and glorious tradition dating all the way back to the days of the Wright Brothers. When these two men decided they would make a flying machine, most people thought they were insane. Man is not meant to fly, that is for the birds. It is impossible, physically and technically and it can never happen. But history has proven the doubters wrong time and again and aviation was no exception.
Now days, anyone can fly. Not only in a commercial plane but anyone with the right frame of mind and desire can learn how to fly themselves. It is not as hard as you might think. There are a slew of independent web sites that can have the wannabe pilot up and running in a very short time.
Most of these online schools cost anywhere from two thousand dollars all the way up to ten thousand. They range from eleven days to several weeks in length. Do some research into what works well with your schedule and decide the best fit before committing to anything. Also make sure they are an accredited school and your license will be much easier to get.
These classes are fun and informative. You start out by learning the technical aspects of flying, including the rules and regulations of airspace. These guidelines are important to understand when learning to fly. Next, you move on to hands-on interaction with certified instructors. You will learn the ins and outs of the cockpit and the entire plane itself. In order to fully know what you are doing, this approach is key. Be safe first and then have fun with your newly acquired skills.
Keep in mind that passing these first tests does not qualify you for flight. Gaining full status to fly is a longer process but a necessary one. A certain number of hours must be completed in the air before becoming a fully functioning member of the airborne, aviation community. Once this process is complete, your work is over and now the real fun begins.
So what can one do with an aviation license? What activities are fun and available to a fully licensed pilot? First is the possibility of owning your own plane. If you own your own plane, the possibilities for recreation are endless.
Where have you always wanted to go but could not because of time constraints and lack of money? When you are the pilot, no where is off limits. Been meaning to go to Ireland? Jamaica? No problem, since now you have your own plane and can fly there yourself.
Not to mention you bypass the headache everyone must face now in going to the airport. Why wait in line for hours and go through security checkpoints when you can take off whenever you want and go wherever you want? Flying can now become a fun, relaxing, educational experience rather than the excruciating pain it is now.
Another recreational activity that can be done with flying is skydiving. Skydiving is enjoyed by thousands of people each year. One of the most gratifying experiences is conquering your fear of heights, getting a rush from the free-fall or just plain doing something new and exciting.
For first time skydivers, tandem diving is recommended. With this method, you do not need to learn how to skydive at all but can still enjoy the feeling. A trained professional is connected to you while you jump and they do all the necessary work as you have all the fun. Sounds like a good combination? It is.
For other more seasoned skydivers, there is always the accelerated free-fall. In this method, a person can move faster towards their goal by completing this as a first jump and getting closer to full certification. This is for serious jumpers that intend to continue skydiving for some time.
So, all of this fun and excitement stems from the wonderful invention and profession of aviation. So many opportunities presented themselves when the first plane was flown. Whether one experiences it first hand by learning to fly and becoming a pilot or uses a plane to take a trip or to participate in a fun activity such as skydiving, everyone benefits from its practice.
Like to fly? Visit Aviation Social Networking.
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Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 8:05 pm and is filed under aviation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.