Aircraft tax may be on it's way out

Aircraft owners in the Borough may no longer need to register their planes and pay an annual tax. Ordinance 12 dash 40, which was introduced at the February 21^st Borough Assembly Meeting, calls for the repeal of borough code 3 point 33 concerning the registration and taxation of aircraft.

Assemblyman Darcie Salmon introduced the ordinance, and he says the current code is unfair.

[audio:https://ktna.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/1Aircraft34.mp3|titles=1Aircraft34]

Salmon is not a pilot, but he says he has been contacted by a growing number of constituents who feel that the annual tax of $75 tax per single-engine plane, and $150 per double engine, goes beyond the scope of government, and unnecessarily targets a specific group.

[audio:https://ktna.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/2Aircraft54.mp3|titles=2Aircraft54]

The Assessor’s office says approximately 1,200 aircraft are registered in the borough. The aircraft tax is the last hold-over from the personal property tax which was eliminated in the mid ‘90s.

Paul Roderick registers seven planes with the borough each year for Talkeetna Air Taxi, and he agrees that the fee doesn’t come back to aviators. Since very plane needs to meet FAA regulations for flight-worthiness and registration, he thinks the tax is a duplication.

[audio:https://ktna.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/3Aircraft42.mp3|titles=3Aircraft42]

A public hearing for the ordinance is scheduled for the March 6th Mat Su Borough Assembly meeting.