Government Relations Alert: Attn. Washington State Residents

 

This reminds me of the old thermodynamics rule of entropy. You can't win, you can't break even, and you can't get out of the game. Are they going to make it retroactive also?

Washington cities, Renton in particular, are equally bad. It is reasons similar to this that I left Chicago area years ago. It is also why Boeing has just opened a new 787 manufacturing facility in North Carolina and why the 737 will be the last Boeing airplane built in the old B-29 facility in Renton. That facility was also known as the first triple seven facility. It was named for the aircraft produced there; that is the 07-27-37 production lines.

Please, would someone send a clear, so any idiot can follow, link to this blog for the government officials to read.

Grant Smith

 

I just called my representative and the governors office to oppose this bill.  My yearly taxes would likely go from $65 to $500.  The Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for trying to balance the budget on the backs of general aviation which is already struggling...   I would like to aks if there is any help you can provide in getting this bill defeated. 

 

Thank you,

Richard Beckert

Here is copy of what I just sent to the Washington Legislators in my district.  If they follow through VOTE THEM OUT.

The following message was sent to Senator Ed Murray (D), Representative Jamie Pedersen (D) and Representative Frank Chopp (D) of the 43rd district.

---

TO:   Senator Ed Murray  
CC:   Representative Jamie Pedersen
Representative Frank Chopp  
FROM:   Mr. Rhys Spoor  
STREET ADDRESS:   2727 Fairview Ave E Apt 5   Seattle, WA 98102-3154  
EMAIL:   spoordds@msn.com  
PHONE:   (206) 799 - 8386  
SUBJECT:   AIrcraft Excise Tax  
MESSAGE:   To Senator Ed Murray, Representative Jamie Pedersen and Representative Frank Chopp,

I am opposing the passage of House Bill 3176 and protest this new and unwarranted excise/property tax. I own a single engine aircraft in Washington and pay $65 per year for registration which I have no problem doing. I also pay a lot of other taxes to the state and am a small business owner who employs 5 employees. The tax on the airplane, which I understand will be .005% annually is excessive and will raise what I pay to the state to $350 per year, an increase of over 500%. That is not reasonable!

I understand the state is looking for anyway it can to increase revenue, but I work extremely hard to maintain the ability to fly and the extra burden of a tax like this continues to cause the cost to fly skyrocket.

Again, I strongly oppose this tax. If you support this tax you will lose my vote in the next election.

Rhys Spoor  
RESPONSE:   Mr. Spoor has requested a response to this message.

Is that letter written with the decimal place off? .005% of $100,000 is only $5. $500 is .5% of $100,000.

Yep, the decimal is off but the total tax amount would be right.  I guess it will be interesting to see if they actually read the letter closely enough to catch it.

Here we go again, those fine folks in Olympia only have one solution for the fine fix thet have ready gotten the state into, more taxes or increase fees! I think we need to vote the whole mess of them out. I don't know for sure, I don't belive that the states owns the skies above Washington yet.

Here's the test of a message I sent my Reps (Simpson & Sullivan) and Senator (Kaufman):

 

Dear legislators,

 

With respect to House Bill 3176, I feel that sections 1002, RCW 82.48.020 and 2000 c 229 s 4, imposing an annual .5% excise tax on aircraft, is excessive, arbitrary, unfair, and blind to the facts surrounding general aviation small aircraft ownership within our State.  We don't impose a similar annual excise tax on automobiles.  Boats have an annual tax but only if over 16 feet in length.  It doesn't seem fair to place a burdensome tax on what is mistakenly perceived to be a possible cash cow.  I fear the tax, as proposed, could backfire and decrease overall revenues in the future. 

 

Legislators who perceive light planes as just another recreational vehicle are not seeing the entire picture.  Small general aviation airplanes are federally regulated and licensed.  The owner/operators are federally screened, regulated, licensed, and controlled.  The owner/operators must take annual and bi-annual physical and flight competency tests to continue to fly the airplanes.  The airplanes themselves must have a yearly inspection that ranges in cost between $1,000 and $3,000 annually depending on the type of airplane.  Because of taxes, aviation fuel within the state averages about $5.00/gal.  All this adds immensely to the expense of operating a light plane.  Adding a burdensome annual State tax will have a negative effect on ownership within the State and will tend to reduce the number of light planes being operated within the State of Washington; a statistic already on the decline.

 

The proposed tax would do two things: 1)discourage, in the long run, ownership of small airplanes within the State, and 2)immediately reduce the existing inventory of airplanes within the State.  Both would impact Washington small businesses.  The number of Fixed Base Operators (FBOs), mechanics, suppliers, & small general aviation airports would further decline, impacting the State’s overall tax base.  The negative roll-over effects of these losses would contribute to further erosion of the existing tax base. 

 

With the high cost of light plane ownership & maintenance and the high cost of aviation fuel, the extra blow of increased taxes may just be the final nail in the coffin for quite a few folks.  Look around Washington's general aviation airports today and you'll see hundreds of light planes that are sitting on the ramp in an un-airworthy condition; not being flown because of the high cost of fuel, insurance, and maintenance.  Add a new burdensome tax to those costs and more people will abandoned their once inexpensive-to-buy airplanes.  Instead of increased revenues for the State, we’ll see diminishing returns over time as more and more people sell their airplanes to out-of-state buyers or abandon them completely.  Just as with the current home-owner crisis, many small airplanes have recently lost value.  In some cases, owners owe more than the value of the airplane. 

 

As an alternative, may I suggest that non-commercial private light airplanes with a gross weight of less than 7,500 lbs should continue with the existing $65.00 per year fee.  All airplanes in all other categories could then be assessed to pay more.  Most these larger airplanes (over 7,500 lbs) are operated in some commercial capacity.   The increased tax burden would be passed to their customers.  If instituted, this "Two Level" tax plan would increase revenues over time, not decrease them.  It would be a win-win for the State and small plane owners, small general aviation businesses, and smaller general aviation airports. 

 

Washington has a history of being supportive of general aviation.  Imposition of this tax would be a clear message that says “The State of Washington doesn’t support general aviation and we don’t want small airplanes here”.  Keeping the State friendly to light airplane owners, buyers, and maintainers would be the best path to increasing revenues.

 

Bob Kay

Crest Airpark

Kent, WA

It is a shame that the current Washington State Legislature wants to continue creating unsustainable budgets and paying for them with increasing taxes.  In the case of HB 3176, the tax will have unintended consequences and damage general aviation.  The cost of participating in general aviation has grown year after year, forcing many who would like to participate to leave the industry.  This tax will further damage the already struggling industry.  The legislature needs to contol its spending, not contine to increase ways to tax people.  This bill picks on one small segment of the population which is unfair.  The legislature would not do this with automobiles because the larger public segment would scorn them and run them out of office.  It is easy to pick on a smaller group which doesn't have a significant way to fight back.  If the general public thinks this kind of taxation is a good idea, which other small population will be next.  It might be one you are in.  This is the result of an out of control legislature which does not consider the reults of its ability to tax.  This legislature should be replaced with one that controls spending and does not take actions which destroy small populations in our culture.  EAA members can fight against the arrogance of taxation by working against legislative members who vote for this bill.  During the coming legilative elections in 2010, all house members will be up for election.  Ask the candidates how they stand on controlling spending and how they voted or would have voted on HB 3176.  All of the debate in the world will not convince tax and spenders to control spending and reduce taxes.  Both would grow the state's economy and have a positive affect on each citizen of the state.   General aviation enthusiasts, and especially EAA members should be vigilent when they vote in 2010 and tell their family, friends and neighbors about candidates who are not tax and spenders.

Ron Talcott, Tacoma WA

I was just on the Washington State Legislature website and HB 3176 (Description off the website: Increasing state revenues to preserve funding for education, public safety, health care, and safety net services for elderly, disabled, and vulnerable people by preventing abusive tax avoidance transactions, narrowing or eliminating certain tax preferences, and providing equitable tax treatment) is 89 pages long.  The part on the aircraft starts on page 69. If you type in the bill # it gives all of the sponsors.

Rhys Spoor

Seattle WA

 

Thanks to you and those who emailed us about the typo - it's been corrected now.

Thanks again!

- Hal

Here is one answer form Rep Jamie Pederson.  I guess from his response we should feel lucky we don't get an EXCISE TAX AND A PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX. 

VOTE THEM OUT.

 

Dear Mr. Spoor -- 
 
Thanks for your message and for taking the time to write to me regarding HB 3176,

 which includes a proposed increase in the excise tax applicable to airplanes.  

In 1949 the legislature set up differently structured taxes on airplanes and boats,

 but at the same level. The airplane tax was established as an excise tax; the boat

 tax as a personal property tax (from which airplanes are exempt).
 
The Joint Legislative audit and review commission does regular performance audits on

 tax preferences. This last year they looked at the general aviation aircraft 

exemption from personal property taxes and recommended that we keep the current 

structure so that we don't subject them to double taxation - both property taxes

 AND the aircraft excise tax. The bipartisan commission that oversees the performance

 audits voted unanimously to adopt the commission report, but asked us to look at 

the LEVEL of the excise tax, to return it to the original parity with boats. You

 can read the report here

 http://www.leg.wa.gov/JLARC/AuditAndStudyReports/2009/Documents/09-11.pdf#page=127 

and the commission recommendation here:

 http://www.leg.wa.gov/JLARC/AuditAndStudyReports/2009/Documents/09-11ReportSummary.pdf on page 7.
 
The commission comments were that "the Legislature should consider whether excise fees

 should be raised and whether the level...should more closely correspond to the 

Legislature's apparent original intent of approximately one percent of value."
 
The proposal in HB 3176 is to reset the tax for airplanes at the same level as

 boats - one half of one percent of value. This returns the tax to the legislature's

 original intent - the same as the level on boats. 
 
I strongly believe that we need to eliminate tax exemptions such as this one so that

 we can maintain critical state services for vulnerable people and do no more damage

 to our inadequate funding of public education.  We're doing our best to make the 

state government efficient and cut what we can -- but fundamentally we need more revenue.

  I understand that you may disagree, but hope that this helps you understand my perspective.
 
Best wishes, Jamie
 
 
Representative Jamie Pedersen
43rd Legislative District
 
Olympia Office
JLOB 318
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504
360.786.7826
pedersen.jamie@leg.wa.gov
 
Legislative assistant
Katy Buck
Buck.Katy@leg.wa.gov 

 

 

They justify themselves no matter how they do it.... mostly by passing the buck.  

If you take the ferry system they have about 1500 hourly employees BUT they have another 800 plus SUPERVISORS.  I can see how the state can save about 36 to 60 Million with cutting their supervisors by 66%....

I sent this fact about our ferry system to my reps along with dislike for what they are doing in this bill and they have not sent me anything back.  And I asked for them to respond to my note too.

Kriss

It is very easy to use the Washington State Legislature site to locate legislators for your district and send all of them in your district an email (with one click):  http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/default.aspx?city=&street=&zip=

The following message was sent to Representative Roger Goodman (D), Representative Larry Springer (D) and Senator Eric Oemig (D) of the 45th district.

 

With respect to House Bill 3176, I feel that sections 1002, RCW 82.48.020 and 2000 c 229 s 4, imposing an annual .5% excise tax on aircraft, is excessive, arbitrary, unfair, and blind to the facts surrounding general aviation small aircraft ownership within our State.  I oppose this tax.  If you support this tax, you will lose my vote in the next election.

 

Washington state has about 5,933 registered General Aviation (GA) aircraft.

 

It appears that the intent is to obtain about $6 million in new tax revenue by taxing the 5993 aircraft on the average, about $1000 each.   This is based on Washingon state data showing 5993 registered airplanes having a worth of $1.1 Billion, and the new excise tax rate of .5%.   Again, that would be a revenue collection of about $6 million for an average of $1000 for each registered GA aircraft in WA.

 On the other hand, there are over 7,000,000 registered vehicles in Washington State.  And about 4.8 million drivers, for a ratio of about 1.4 vehicles per driver.  Certain that represents a luxury of some kind.  If you wanted to collect an extra $6 million in taxes, why not spread the tax over those vehicles.  That is only about 86 cents per vehicle.

Is the thinking that GA airplanes are owned by rich guys, and they’ll never miss that extra $1000 ?   Well, my newest car is 13 years old – my wife drives it most of the time.  I drive a 1979 Saab (worth about $400 tops), so I can afford to fly a 1974 airplane (36 years old !)  Fuel costs about $5.00 gallon, and the annual inspection of the plane is around $1000.  If I’m lucky, I’ll fly it 50 hours.  If Bill 3176 passes, you just raised my flying costs by another $20 each hour!

If you taxed each motor vehicle 86 cents, you just raised the hourly cost of driving an average car about 2/10ths of a cent. 

 

So… why are you picking on General Aviation?  Do you really not like the services that GA provides this state, such as: gas pipeline patrol, hospital emergency transportation, complimentary (free) medical transport for the needyvia programs such as Angel Flight, traffic reporting, fishery spotting, wildlife counting and surveys, search and rescue, helicopter logging, forest fire fighting and protection, moving firefighters to/from fire locations, television news reporting, charter flight services, sightseeing, antique aircraft flights, external load operations from helicopters (placing heavy loads on buildings, for example), wire pulling for power companies like the Bonneville Power Company, power-line patrol – inspection and maintenance, Civil Air patrol training and search/rescue, crop dusting, seeding and fertilizing – both helicopter and fixed wing, aerial photography, aerial filming, sports filming (golf, football, skiing), banner towing, flight training – where do you think the next generation of commercial airline pilots will come from?  Oh yes, and recreational flying – you know, the kind of fun stuff that is similar to what the people do that own the 280 thousand recreational boats in Washington State. 

I find it very hard to understand why you would consider raising the registration taxes on GA aircraft an average of 1500 percent !!!    

Again, I strongly oppose this tax. If you support this tax you will lose my vote in the next election.

 

I wrote to my flock of neer-do wells, but my overriding message was a bit different.  What in blazes are these people doing RAISING taxes when the economy is in the tank.  Income is down.  Don't these miscreants realize they are just piling on?

Aircraft owners are not the only victims of this bill, they are attempting to hose, well...everybody.