GA Groups Unite Against User Fee Proposal

Nine general-aviation organizations are actively opposing President Obama's call for a $100-per-flight tax for turbine aircraft operating with IFR flight plans, part of his effort to address the U.S. deficit. The GA groups noted that many countries have imposed per-flight charges on general aviation with "devastating" consequences. According to an NBAA spokesman, such consequences include a "hidden administrative burden" that serves "as a de facto barrier to the use of an airplane." The groups included in the opposition are 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. The White House has calculated that the per-flight fee would generate an estimated $11 billion over 10 years. Additionally, the proposal calls for closing the "corporate jet tax loophole," which the White House says would save the federal government another $4.6 billion over the same period. The GA associations reminded Obama that Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives felt so strongly about this issue that 116 members "sent you a letter earlier this year saying new aviation charges like the one you are now proposing would be 'dead on arrival.'"