Arizona Republicans lash out at Democrats to defend tax loophole for corporate jets

Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Andrei Cherny riled the feathers of the state's Republican Party by suggesting that those who can afford corporate jets should have to make sacrifices, not just seniors and middle-class families.

"What (President Barack Obama) is saying is (that) we need a balanced approach, and if we are going to ask seniors and our military and others to sacrifice, we should be able to ask people who are getting a tax loophole to pay for corporate jets to sacrifice a little bit as well," he told the East Valley Tribune. "I don’t think that’s too much to ask."

Current tax law allows owners of jets to write off the depreciation over the course of seven years.

In response, the Arizona Republican Party issued a statement saying, "Maybe Cherny is okay with cutting manufacturing industry jobs in Arizona, but we are not." They noted that Arizona is currently home to a number of aviation companies, such as AmSafe Aviation, FlightSafety International, Honeywell Aerospace, Parker Aerospace, and Universal Avionics.

"Unfortunately, this is just another example of close minded tax-and-spend liberals believing the only solution to our fiscal crisis is to take money from the rich and give it to the poor," their statement said.

Cherny advised Arizona’s Republican members of Congress on Tuesday to distance themselves from the statement.

“Every person must do their part to solve this national crisis and return America to fiscal discipline,” Cherny said. “It's shocking that the Arizona Republican Party attacked me for saying that corporate jet owners -- and not just seniors, students and the middle class -- need to sacrifice in the name of a return to fiscal responsibility.”

A Reuters/Ipsos Poll released Tuesday found that 56 percent of Americans agree with the president's "balanced approach" to offer a combination of spending cuts and ending subsidies and tax loopholes to bring down the U.S. budget deficit and raise the debt ceiling. Only 19 percent said the best option was to only to cut existing spending.

Image courtesy of Justin Smith