AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - October 2014 - 38

PILOT BRIEFING

AOPA ACTION

Savings in the states
Tackling taxes and fees nationwide
BY ELIZABETH A. TENNYSON

OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, AOPA has been
able to actively save members who own their
own aircraft an average of $179.22 per year by
promoting legislation to create tax exemptions and cuts, while opposing legislation
that would increase taxes and fees on pilots.
Renters save, too. In 2014, 46 state legislatures
were in session, and AOPA reviewed and monitored hundreds of bills passing through every
one of those state legislatures, on the lookout for measures with the potential to affect
general aviation, either directly or indirectly.
When we found a bill that could help or harm
GA, we jumped in, fighting to protect your
freedom to fly, educating lawmakers about the
consequences of their decisions, and promoting legislation that makes it easier and more
affordable to take to the air. Take a look at this
sampling of states where we've made a difference in just 2013 and 2014, and see how much
some of these measures are saving* pilots
right now.
EMAIL elizabeth.tennyson@aopa.org

MISSOURI-AOPA

works with the Missouri
Pilots Association and
members in the state
to champion legislation
that prevents a state
sales tax exemption
on aircraft parts and
materials from expiring.
The measure is signed
into law in July 2014,
ensuring members
won't have to pay the
tax-ranging from 4.225
percent to 9.6 percent.
Estimated member
savings: $127 to $288
each year.

INDIANA-AOPA

advocates for legislation
that eliminates the
7-percent sales tax
on aviation fuel and
maintenance at Part

38 | AOPA PILOT October 2014

145 maintenance
shops, lowering the
price of fuel up to 50
cents per gallon. AOPA
persuades legislators
to expand the sales tax
exemption on aircraft
repair and maintenance
to everyone. Estimated
member savings: $210
annually.

ALABAMA-AOPA

champions a law that
provides a use-tax
exemption equivalent to
the 4-percent sales tax
on parts, components,
and systems used in
the reconfiguration or
maintenance of certain
aircraft. Estimated
member savings: $120
annually.

NEW MEXICO-

AOPA helps introduce
legislation that removes
a 5.125-percent gross
receipts tax on aviation
maintenance labor
and parts. Estimated
member savings: $154
annually.

KANSAS-AOPA
supports a measure that
adds homebuilt aircraft
to an existing sales tax
exemption for antique
aircraft. Estimated
member savings: $1,032
based on an average
tax collection rate of
1.29 percent and an
all-inclusive kit price of
$80,000.
MASSACHUSETTS-
AOPA helps stop two

pieces of legislation that
would have raised taxes
on aircraft owners. One
bill would have placed
a 6.25-percent sales tax
on aircraft and the other
would have placed the
same tax on hangar
and maintenance costs.
Both bills are defeated.
Estimated member
savings: $5,937 in
taxes on a 1978 Cessna
182 purchased for
$95,000, plus $187
annually on hangar and
maintenance costs.

GEORGIA-AOPA

prevents a sales tax
exemption on aircraft
maintenance from
expiring. Estimated
member savings: $240
annually.

OHIO-AOPA

successfully fights to
have provisions that
would increase taxes on
aircraft rentals, charter
providers, and others
removed from a bill
dealing with the state's
sales tax.

OREGON-AOPA's

efforts stop a bill to
raise the state's tax on
avgas by 2 cents per
gallon.

PENNSYLVANIA-

When property tax
legislation mistakenly
includes a 6-percent
sales and use tax on
aircraft parts and
maintenance, AOPA
contacts the bill's
sponsor, and the error
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - October 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - October 2014
