Industry Associations Band Together To Present United Front Against $100 Per Flight ATC Tax

President Obama just won't let go of the idea of user fees for GA, despite a large body of evidence that they would likely have an enormous negative impact on an industry still struggling in a shaky economy.

Saying private business aircraft "don't pay their fair share" for use of the nation's air traffic control system, the administration has floated a $100 per flight user fee for corporate jets and turboprops in a document called "Living Within Our Means And Investing In Our Future" released by the Office of Management and Budget Monday. OMB estimates the fee will generate $11 billion over 10 years. In the proposal, the President says he is "eliminating benefits for those who use corporate jets."

Reaction from the nation's leading general aviation (GA) associations was quick, and without exception they forcefully opposed user fees for GA flights proposed in President Barack Obama's proposal for addressing the nation's deficit and job crises.

The Aircraft Electronics Association, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Experimental Aircraft Association, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the Helicopter Association International, the International Council of Air Shows, the National Association of State Aviation Officials, the National Air Transportation Association and the National Business Aviation Association jointly issued the following statement:

"As primary representatives of the general aviation community, we are expressing our unified opposition to the new $100 per flight tax in your proposal. We believe this per-flight tax not only imposes a significant new administrative burden on general aviation operators who currently pay through an efficient per-gallon fuel charge at the pump, but it will also necessitate the creation of a costly new federal collection bureaucracy.

"As you know, the issue of how general aviation can best contribute revenue to the federal government has been the subject of significant study and debate as part of the FAA reauthorization process. After careful consideration, both chambers of Congress have passed bills that endorse the per-gallon fuel charges rather than adopt a per-flight tax similar to the one you propose. In fact, Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives felt so strongly about this issue that 116 members of that body sent you a letter earlier this year saying new aviation charges like the one you are now proposing would be ‘dead on arrival.’

"Mr. President, many foreign countries have imposed per-flight charges on general aviation and the results have been devastating. Please do not go down that dangerous path and cost jobs in our community.

"Per-gallon fuel charges work. Per-flight taxes destroy."

FMI: GAMA , AEA, AOPA, EAA, HAI, ICAS, NASAO, NATA, NBAA