Face to face with pilots
By Mike Ginter
AOPA’s Government Affairs team fights for your freedom to fly throughout the year from our office in Washington, D.C., and each year we attend major aviation events across the country to meet pilots and members where they fly.
At the annual Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Florida, our team met with hundreds of pilots and aircraft owners on the AOPA campus and heard their concerns about hangar availability, fuel prices, FBO fees, airport regulation changes, airspace issues, control tower closures, and inappropriate notams.
Our ability to help these members greatly improves when we can meet face to face and discuss the issues in detail.
We also had the opportunity to host our annual Airport Support Network volunteer happy hour, which drew more than 60 volunteers and aviation leaders to our campus, where many ASN volunteers met Stacey Heaton, our Southern regional manager, for the first time. The dedication and enthusiasm of these volunteers was evident, and is the driving force behind our successful airport advocacy mission.
The warm weather and clear skies provided the perfect setting for large crowds and a high-energy airshow each day. While we truly appreciate meeting our members face to face at these airshows, our government affairs team is available every day by calling 800-USA-AOPA.
On the front lines
The cost of ownership
By Sean Collins, AOPA Eastern region manager
Advocating for targeted sales tax exemptions is one way that AOPA works to strengthen state aviation industries where an exemption does not cut into aviation funding. An additional benefit to these measures can be that they help to lower the cost of aircraft ownership.
AOPA works with state government and aviation leaders to advance tax exemptions that strengthen state airport funding. Consider that Alaska, Florida, and Texas forgo income taxes entirely while other states such as Oregon and Montana do not have a general sales tax. These differences can create disparities for airports and businesses competing for business from neighboring states. AOPA seeks to level these disparities where a targeted tax exemption on aircraft parts, purchases, or storage can serve to enhance the system’s ability to compete for aviation activity. In turn, these exemptions attract new aircraft and aviation businesses, create jobs, and strengthen the broader community.
For states that collect fuel taxes for aviation funding, when activity at even one airport increases, the entire state system benefits. The funding from aviation activity is returned to users through development projects. Today, 38 states offer at least some version of a sales tax exemption aimed at benefiting their general aviation industry. AOPA’s regional advocacy team continues to advocate for these opportunities that help states compete and lower the cost of aircraft ownership. [email protected]
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