Newsday Calls For Changes In The State Tax Code To Make Ownership Less Expensive

An editorial published in the New York publication Newsday calls for the state's legislature to support a bill which exempts private aircraft from a tax when they are moved to New York from another state.

The bill passed the State Senate in July. In the editorial, the paper indicates that the tax imposed on airplanes bought outside New York but moved there permanently is based on the market value of the airplane rather than the purchase price. Buyers pay a sales tax based on the purchase price when the plane is purchased in state. The tax brings between $3 and $15 million to the state per year, which Newsday calls "small potatoes."

Because there is no sales tax on private airplanes in neighboring states such as Connecticut, that's where the planes, and the revenue and business they generate, are kept, according to the piece.

The editorial writers say exempting the planes from sales taxes is the logical next step after the New York legislature cut the tax on aircraft maintenance.

The bill has yet to pass the New York State Assembly.

FMY: http://assembly.state.ny.us/