Kevin Mossey, a private pilot living in Marion, Iowa, has posted a petition on the White House website asking the Obama administration to “take aviation user fees off the table.” Last week’s proposal to charge $100 per flight for some general aviation operations is too complex, according to Mossey. “We should be working to simplify the tax codes,” he wrote. “A tax on fuel more accurately reflects the ATC services used.” As of Tuesday, the petition had attracted over 2,600 online signatures. If the petition logs 5,000 signatures by Oct. 23, it will be reviewed by the White House for an official response.
Last week’s user-fee proposal was part of a deficit-reduction plan. GA advocacy groups quickly expressed “unified opposition.” The proposal exempts military aircraft, recreational piston aircraft, air ambulances, aircraft operating outside of controlled airspace, aircraft operated by the federal government, and Canada-to-Canada flights. The revenues generated by the surcharge would be deposited into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund to help pay the costs of maintaining the country’s airports and the air-traffic-control system. The fee would generate an estimated $11 billion over 10 years, according to the proposal.
