AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013 - 98

SURVEY

79%

of AOPA members say state
initiatives affecting GA are
highly important

News & Notes
MEMBERSHIP

Lower taxes equal more jobs
GA celebrates big win in Indiana

98 | AOPA PILOT November 2013

Bosma and Senate leader Brandt Hershman—key sponsors of
the tax-relief bill—were awarded AOPA Presidential Citations for
their work in support of general aviation.
“Comprehensive legislative reform of this nature is an extremely
challenging undertaking, and this successful outcome would not
have been possible without the work of these legislative leaders,” said AOPA Director of
State Government Affairs
EXTRA
Mark Kimberling. Kimberling
and AOPA Regional Manager
AOPA advocates for its
members to:
Bryan Budds worked with
• Promote, protect, and
local allies for nearly a year to
defend America’s
build support for the measure
community airports.
• Maintain sufficient state
in partnership with Hershman
and local funding for
and Bosma.
GA airports and
AOPA is engaged in similar
infrastructure.
• Prevent excessive state
efforts in other states with high
taxation on flying.
taxes on fuel and maintenance.
• Protect GA from
“In many places, state taxes
unnecessary state and
local regulation.
are far higher than federal
taxes, and that adds significantly to the cost of flying,” Kimberling said. “We are actively
working to lower those state tax burdens and make GA flying more
affordable.”

JOHN HOLM

THE EVIDENCE IS CLEAR: Lower taxes on general aviation really do
create jobs, as business and political leaders in Indiana are finding
out. New pro-GA legislation, which eliminated a 7-percent sales tax
on aircraft parts and labor, and lowered the state sales tax on aviation fuel by more than 40 cents per gallon moved Indiana from the
state with the highest fuel tax rate in the nation to a competitive
position just below the national average.
“We added a second shift,” said Matt Hagans, CEO of Eagle
Creek Aviation Services in Indianapolis. “If this bill didn’t get
passed, we were looking at shipping people down to our Florida
operation. These jobs would have left the state.”
Eagle Creek is not the only business that’s growing just weeks
after the law was passed. At a nearby Beechcraft facility, hiring is
up 75 percent and more new jobs are expected in 2014, said Marty
Becker, who leads the operation.
“I’m proud to say that at Beechcraft, we’ve added a lot of people
because of this law,” Becker said.
Before the legislation, aircraft operators were saving money by
leaving Indiana to buy fuel or make repairs.
“People would go to a different state,” said Brian Bosma, speaker
of the Indiana House of Representatives. Bosma noted that other
states—including Ohio, New York, Maine, Oklahoma, and Florida—
had previously enacted tax cuts, making it imperative for Indiana
to follow suit.

AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2013