Regulations and Government
Congress steering away from GA user fee plan
General aviation late last week won a major battle, but not yet the entire war, against user fees.

General aviation late last week won a major battle, but not yet the entire war, against user fees. The House of Representatives last Thursday approved H.R.2881, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2007, and the next morning the Senate Finance Committee drastically modified the tax provisions in its companion bill, S.1300.

The House legislation would raise the tax on jet-A from 21.8 to 35.9 cents a gallon and the tax on avgas from 19.3 to 24.1 cents a gallon. The airline taxes–including 7.5 percent on tickets and a 4.3-cents-per-gallon tax on jet fuel–will remain at existing levels. Money from the tax hikes on GA fuel would be earmarked exclusively for air traffic control modernization.