Aircraft owners in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough of Alaska will save $75 to $125 a year on registration fees now that the Borough Assembly has voted to repeal a registration tax.
The unopposed vote March 6 came as a result of the Mat Su Aviation Advisory Committee’s efforts to call attention to the tax as a drag on the local area’s aviation economy. The committee had passed a resolution advocating repeal—and Borough Assembly member Darcie Salmon followed up by introducing legislation proposing the registration fee’s repeal. Nine of 10 residents who spoke at a public hearing before the vote supported repeal.
Owners of single-engine aircraft registered in the borough will save $75 a year on the repealed tax; twin owners will save $125, with the savings perhaps drawing other aircraft to be based in the borough.
AOPA supported the tax repeal in a letter from Alaska Regional Manager Tom George to the Borough Assembly. Airport Support Network volunteers Dave Earl of Palmer Municipal Airport, and Jane Dale of Willow also rallied support.
AOPA credited the aviation advisory committee for its effective work on the issue, and encourages the borough to continue developing its aviation system plan intended to accumulate information on the economic impact of aviation to the borough.
