Push for sales tax exemption resumes in Maryland
Aviation advocates in Maryland are resuming their efforts to pass a sales tax exemption for aircraft parts and components, a measure that could save aircraft operators big dollars on maintenance bills and put the state’s aviation-services sector on a competitive footing with states up and down the East Coast.
In 2017, a bill seeking a sales tax exemption for materials used to maintain or repair aircraft passed the state Senate unanimously but stalled in the House of Delegates during a late-session budget-related “bottleneck,” said AOPA Eastern Regional Manager Sean Collins.
The effort did not end there, however. “With the support of AOPA members, the bills’ sponsors worked throughout the off-season to build awareness and support for the legislation,” he said.
The sponsors, Sen. Stephen Waugh (R-District 29), Delegate Sid A. Saab (R-District 33), and their supporters “have once again sponsored legislation aimed at leveling competition for local aviation businesses while strengthening the self-sufficiency of the state’s public-use airports,” Collins said.
How you can help
AOPA members can help by contacting their district’s senator and delegate to urge support of the legislation, pointing out that it would promote the state’s economy, create jobs, and bolster Maryland’s aviation community.
“With passage of this legislation, Maryland would become the eleventh state across the Eastern region to enact such legislation, thereby eliminating a competitive disadvantage that continues to send aircraft operation, maintenance jobs, and associated economic activity over state lines,” he said.
