New York state bills would help, hurt GA

Members who live in one of seven legislative districts received a special "call to action" email from AOPA, asking them to contact their state senator (who sits on the Senate Budget and Revenue Committee) and voice opposition to a bill under consideration that would repeal the state's decade-old exemption on general aviation aircraft sales and use taxes. AOPA Eastern Regional Manager Sean Collins submitted written testimony to the committee May 19, detailing AOPA's support for a tax exemption that supports an industry responsible for 454,500 jobs and $79.9 billion in annual economic impact, generating $6.1 billion in tax revenue, according to a 2024 state report.

Collins reminded lawmakers that GA aircraft are highly mobile assets, and repealing the tax exemption created in 2015 would move much of the aforementioned economic activity to neighboring states with more favorable tax policies:

"While convenience is a chief concern, expense is the principal motivator in choosing where to base an aircraft and where to acquire services. Operators prefer to base their aircraft where services are readily available, as this reduces operational downtime. Based aircraft generate more direct revenue for airports, most of which are municipally owned, through tie-downs or hangar fees and other services when compared with their transient counterparts."

Collins noted that most of the state's airports are operated by municipalities that stand to lose revenue if based aircraft relocate, leaving local taxpayers "on the hook" to make up for the revenue shortfall since those same airports are typically obligated by the terms of federal grants to maintain safety standards.

Meanwhile, Sen. John C. Liu (D-16^th District) introduced a separate bill (S10490) on May 15 that would add New York to the growing list of states that limit the use of ADS-B data to bill pilots. AOPA is working with federal lawmakers to implement a national ban, with pending legislation to that effect earning support from aviation leaders including NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy. A few days after Liu filed his bill, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford also told senators that the FAA dislikes the practice of using ADS-B data to generate invoices.

"We appreciate this growing sentiment at the state level, but we need a national policy to avoid a patchwork of laws across the nation," said AOPA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Advocacy Jim Coon. "Besides, when [Section] 105 becomes law, airports and state and local tax collectors can still collect fees, they just wouldn't be able to use an aircraft collision avoidance device to do so."

To ensure that you receive AOPA advocacy alerts, please take the time to go to your AOPA membership profile (click "My Account" at the top of any page). Click "Manage Preferences," and make sure that there is a green check mark next to "Advocacy-VOCUS Comms" at the bottom of the page.