October 8, 2026
When a partisan Washington group issued a report suggesting business aviation was not paying taxes commensurate with its use of the national airspace, NBAA quickly responded.
The Institute for Policy Studies recently released a report trotting out its typical misrepresentations, claiming “private jets and charter services” are not paying their fair share in taxes to maintain the aviation system.
Fortune magazine published a response from NBAA challenging an Oct. 1 story that included inaccurate claims from the IPS report.
NBAA’s Dan Hubbard said the story reflected the “partisan group’s flawed conclusions,” and that the taxes paid are a result of how much of the aviation system is used by small aircraft.
“Our industry pays several taxes and fees, including a pay-at-the pump fuel tax,” he said. “We pay more in taxes when we fly more–just like car users do through a fuel tax.”
Hubbard cited the U.S. Government Accountability Office, saying flights by business aviation account for about 7% of aviation system use and a small percentage of traffic at major airports.
The response also pointed out that the story failed to account for the role commercial airline operations play in aviation system costs.
Hubbard contrasted a single-engine turboprop flight between Chattanooga and Altoona with a fully loaded airline jet flying between Newark and O’Hare during peak periods, saying the two flights do not impose equivalent demands on the system.
Hubbard’s full letter to Fortune’s editor follows:
Dear Editor:
Your Oct. 1 story about the impact of flights by small, non-airline aircraft – often known as “business aviation” – parrots a partisan group’s flawed conclusions, rather than giving readers facts.
The article repeats the group’s misrepresentations about the taxes small airplane users pay to support the aviation system and our use of the national airspace. Our industry pays several taxes and fees, including a pay-at-the pump fuel tax. We pay more in taxes when we fly more – just like car users do through a fuel tax.
As for use of the system, flights conducted by small aircraft account for about 7% of system use and a small percentage of traffic at major airports, as the US’s independent Government Accountability Office found.
The article completely missed what really drives aviation system costs. That would be the commercial airlines, given the scale and complexity of their hub-and-spoke operations.
The fact is, business and commercial aviation do not impose an equal cost on the system. A single-engine turboprop flying from Chattanooga to Altoona does not have remotely the same cost as an airline’s fully loaded jumbo jet flying from Newark to O’Hare during peak traffic periods.
Lastly, the author simply accepts the group’s inaccurate view on who really uses business aviation. Hint: It is not C-suite executives. Independent studies found that more than eight out of 10 users of business aviation are small and mid-size enterprises that need to fly managers and customers to and from small towns and communities with little or no airline service.
Sincerely,
Dan Hubbard
Interim Chief Operating Officer
National Business Aviation Association
Washington, D.C.
