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Attempting to quantify the economic value of the aerospace and defense industry, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) released a study March 7 that emphasized the tax revenue and jobs at risk if further defense cuts occur.
The study, completed by Deloitte and commissioned by the AIA, found that the industry accounts for 2.23 percent of the U.S.’s gross domestic product (GDP), resulting in $7.2 billion in direct corporate and sales taxes in 2010 and a total of $37.8 billion in tax revenue if personal income taxes from the estimated 3.53 million associated employees nationwide are included.
The number of employees and resulting tax revenue includes direct, indirect and induced employment, as aerospace and defense companies only employ 1.05 million workers directly.
With an eye toward avoiding additional cuts from sequestration, the study also highlighted for Congress the state-by-state impact of the aerospace and defense industry.
California led all states with 162,162 aerospace and defense employees in 2010, followed by Washington and Texas with 93,925 and 87,781 respectively, the study found.
Kansas had the largest percentage of its economy tied to the industry, with 10.4 percent of its GDP coming from aerospace and defense. Washington and Arizona ranked second and third, with 9.63 percent and 5.91 percent, respectively.
Three states — Nevada, South Dakota and Wyoming — received no tax revenue from aerospace and defense.
The AIA said in a press release that it would use the study as part of its Second to None campaign, a public relations push focused on protecting the industry from further job and defense budget cuts.
