Piston Aircraft Could Escape Taxes... But BizAv Would Still
Pay
Could even some airline representatives be coming around on the
subject of user fees? It sounds hard to believe... but weekly
congressional newspaper The Hill quotes an airline industry source
as saying the FAA erred in proposing increased taxes on small
aircraft to pay for air traffic control modernization.
The proposal move has triggered an outcry from the general
aviation community, which last week announced it was forming the
Alliance for Aviation Across America, a new coalition to fight the
FAA plan. As Aero-News reported, the
group includes aviation interests as well as groups associated with
rural America, including the National Farmers Union and League of
Rural Voters.
Concern over the impact such fees would have on medical flights
and other charitable, often life-saving missions has reportedly
swayed some airline executives to reconsider their support,
according to an unnamed source in the industry.
“If costs go up significantly, it’s likely the
public service missions will be hit first,” warned Rol
Murrow, president of the Air Care Alliance, which represents
nonprofits that do volunteer missions.
A spokeswoman for the alliance, Selena Shilad, told The Hill
that commercial airlines are just trying to distance themselves
from the FAA’s proposal, which they originally backed. Rumor
has it many in the airline industry now believe such fees won't be
levied against piston-driven aircraft (which would still leave
turbine aircraft and business jets vulnerable to increased fees...
perhaps even more so, given the loss of projected revenue from
smaller GA planes -- Ed.)
The Hill also notes the FAA's own accounting figures don't quite
measure up to its claims that airlines are paying a
disproportionately high cost to maintain the nation's air traffic
control system. According to an FAA spokeswoman, the major US
airlines account for 73 percent of the air-traffic control
system’s costs... but contribute 95 percent of the
system’s trust fund.
“We’ve put forward what we think is a fair and
equitable proposal,” the spokeswoman said.
That doesn't agree with an internal document, obtained by The
Hill, from the Air Transport Association. The memo states the
airlines paid roughly 74 percent of total fund contributions. The
number only rises to the 90s when taking into account cargo
shippers and foreign carriers.
Although the airlines have tremendous clout in Washington, they
appear to face an uphill battle. Influential lawmakers of both
parties, in both houses of congress, are critical of the FAA
plan.
First versions of a bill to reauthorize and fund the FAA is
expected from both houses by the end of May. The currently FAA
authorization expires at the end of September.