Jake Cartwright believes that an elimination of depreciation and laying on of more government taxing mechanisms could be the death knell for what he calls the “marginal” aircraft owner.

In the United States, depreciation is a method of tax deferral allowed by the Internal Revenue Service to enable businesses to accelerate deductions when purchasing high-priced capital assets, such as production machinery, highway vehicles, ships or aircraft used in business contexts. Its overriding intention is to encourage — or at least facilitate — the purchase of capital equipment, as this is seen as a stimulus to the larger economy.

“Justifying business aircraft can be a complex endeavor, but it should not be feared,” said David Almy, the driver behind the NBAA’s Travel$ense and now part of the General Aero Co. consultancy.