Manufacturing, Aerospace & Defense

As the state affiliate for the National Association of Manufacturers, AIF is committed to providing a member venue to discuss and advance the interests of Florida’s manufacturing community in all sectors. Florida’s manufacturing sector is the highest indirect job creator of any employment sector in the state—with three indirect jobs created for every manufacturing job. In other words, Florida’s roughly 325,000 manufacturing jobs create nearly one million additional jobs for Floridians. The state’s manufacturing sector is also a significant provider of high wage and high value-added jobs. Florida’s need to grow manufacturing jobs is unquestionable as our state continues to diversify its economy.

Now in its ninth session, AIF’s Manufacturing, Aerospace & Defense Council (MAD) has established itself as an effective advocate for pro-manufacturing policies. In 2013, the Council was instrumental in passing the “Manufacturing Competitiveness Act”—legislation that has given Florida manufacturers the ability to effectively respond to national and world market opportunities and move Florida into a more competitive recruiting position among states seeking to reinvigorate the manufacturing sector of their economy. Additionally, this Council played a key role in passing a permanent elimination of sales tax on manufacturing equipment during the 2016 Legislative Session—a change that has benefited Florida’s manufacturers as they have reinvested to grow their businesses. In 2020, the MAD Council will look to build on its successes by SUPPORTING the following actions:

• Continuing efforts to repeal the tax imposed on commercial leases.
• Continuing to create capital investment incentives and increase funding for the research and development tax credit.
• Continuing state efforts to enhance the manufacturing workforce by expanding access to manufacturing careeracademies for middle and high school students by investing in career-tech programs for priority sectors that culminate in associate degrees (5 -6 year programs).
• Reauthorizing and funding the Qualified Defense & Space Contractor Tax Refund in statute to attract defense contracts to the state of Florida.
• Allowing local governments to consider jobs retained in the same manner they consider jobs created from capital investment to existing businesses when approving property tax abatement.
• Creating and growing programs, training and initiatives that help upskill the knowledge and skills of the Florida workforce to create and maintain an exceptional talent base.