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AJC.com > Legislature > Blog > Archives > 2006 > January > 31 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USLegislators look to help ailing Delta Air Lines
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
House leaders announced Tuesday that they will attempt for a second straight year to lend financial aid to ailing Delta Air Lines, possibly with up to $28 million.
Speaker Pro Tem Mark Burkhalter (R-Alpharetta) said the leadership will be introducing legislation to allow Delta and other airlines to take advantage of tax credits given to other companies for job training.
Delta has earned $28 million in job training credits, but current law says the credits can only be used to offset income, Burkhalter said. “Everybody knows since 9-11-2001 most airlines, including Delta, has not earned a profit,” he said. “Thus they have not been able to recapture those credits they have earned.”
The legislation will allow them to claim the tax credits against withholding, rather than income taxes, Burkhalter said. “We think this is a novel approach and something they deserve.”
He said officials are checking, but believe the change will have little or no impact on the state budget. “And it will allow Delta as they go through bankruptcy court to have another asset they can claim to help get out of bankruptcy, hopefully sometime next spring,” Burkhalter said.
Delta currently pays about $5.5 million a month to the state in withholding taxes.
“We just want to make another statement that we’re pro-business and we want to do everything we can to support Delta and its workers,” House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) said. “Delta’s coming out of this. We’re going to be there to help them.”
The General Assembly, on legislation that started in the House, last year set a cap on taxes on jet fuel, one of the major expenses for Delta and other airlines.
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