AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2013 - 96

NEWS & NOTES

STATE & LOCAL ACTION

AOPA works to cut Indiana
GA aviation taxes

Scenario 1 | CESSNA 172
A 13-minute flight from
Richmond, Indiana (RID) to
Dayton, Ohio (DAY) for repair
saves the owner $2,980.53 in
sales tax

Indiana Ohio
Engine
$2,100
$0
Exhaust
$260.82
$0
Magento
$108.92
$0
Altimeter
$266.84
$0
Transponder $243.95
$0

Total
$2,980.53 vs. $0

OHIO

INDIANA

FLIGHT
13 MINUTE

RID
CMI

DAY
HAO

FLIGHT
39MINUTE

ILLINOIS

INDIANA’S 67 maintenance

providers watch
opportunity fly by.

Scenario 2 | KING AIR C90
AOPA’S GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS TEAM is

working with key leaders in Indiana’s legislature on a bill that could eliminate taxes
on key aviation activities in the state. The
state’s 2013 legislative session is a budgeting year, where legislators will plan the
state’s finances for the next two years.
Indiana is one of only 15 states that
imposes a sales tax on aviation fuel, at 7 percent—which, in combination with the excise
tax, makes its cumulative tax liability one of
the highest in the country. Additionally, the
state’s 7-percent sales tax on aircraft maintenance (parts and labor) stifles maintenance
providers and other related businesses in
the state who watch as aircraft are ferried
out of state for repair work in states with
exemptions already in place—including
neighboring Ohio.
“Several other states, which have previously enacted economically stimulating
tax cuts and exemptions, have not only
experienced a resultant uptick in GA jobs
and investment, but also a net gain in overall revenue from the increased direct and
ancillary economic activity,” said Mark
Kimberling, AOPA director of state government affairs. “As we have examined
Indiana over the past several months, it has
become clear that either or both of these
96 | AOPA PILOT February 2013

A 39-minute flight from Champaign,
Illinois (CMI) to Hamilton, Ohio (HAO)
for repair saves the owner $34,824.30 in
sales tax.

Indiana Ohio
Engine
$33,530
$0
Vacuum pump $64.26
$0
HSI
$719.25
$0
Altimeter
$266.84
$0
Transponder $243.95
$0

Total
$34,824.30 vs. $0

potential measures will boost the state’s
GA industry in this same manner.”
AOPA discussed the state’s aviation fuel
and aircraft maintenance sales tax structure during the legislature’s summer study,
laying the groundwork for relief during the
upcoming 2013 Indiana legislative session.
In the past year, AOPA has had extensive talks with Rep. Brian Bosma (R),
speaker of the Indiana House, and Senate
Majority Floor Leader Brandt Hershman
(R) to explain the detrimental effects these
tax rates have on the Hoosier aviation
industry and the state’s economy.
“The conversations with Speaker
Bosma and Majority Floor Leader
Hershman have been very positive,” said
Kimberling. “We look forward to continuing our discussions with these, and other
key legislators, to finally spur this vital economic growth across the state.”

AIRPORT SUPPORT NETWORK

Current rates render the state uncompetitive in
attracting new jobs and business

AT DUBUQUE
AIRPORT, AOPA
VOLUNTEER SAYS
PRACTICE MAKES
PERFECT
THINK OF IT as successfully
passing an FAA checkride
every year for the past 22 years.
That is what Dubuque Regional
Airport Manager Robert A.
Grierson was recognized for
by AOPA Airport Support
Network volunteer Dr. Philip
Polstra recently. “He was
pretty shocked that AOPA
would recognize him for this,”
said Polstra, assistant professor of aviation at the University
of Dubuque. Grierson is no
stranger to checkrides; he is a
longtime pilot, holding military and civilian certifications
for helicopters and airplanes.
He is a helicopter pilot in the
Iowa Army National Guard and
a 25-year AOPA member.
Dubuque Regional Airport
is a non-hub, primary commercial service airport but it has a
large GA contingent including
the university’s flight department. Areas inspected by the
FAA include the airport certification and operations
manuals, staff training, airport
emergency plans, inspection
plans, pavement inspections,
navaids, wildlife hazard management, airport signs, lighting,
and marking. Scoring a perfect
Part 139 annual inspection 22
years in a row is a major accomplishment—one that should get
kudos from the world’s largest
general aviation organization.

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2013

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