Effective April 07, 2015 Arkansas Sales Tax is no longer applicable to parts or services on Aircraft Weighing 12,500 lbs or greater.
Additionally Arkansas is now a true ‘Fly Away State’ regarding aircraft sales transactions for buyers and sellers who are not residents of Arkansas, nor intend to base the aircraft in Arkansas. Out-of-state operators may close an aircraft transaction in Arkansas without the imposition of Arkansas gross receipts tax.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, Business and general aviation interests last week urged Massachusetts state senators to shelve a bill (Senate Bill 1453) to repeal the state’s decade-old tax exemption on the sale of aircraft, maintenance and parts, according to AINOnline reporter Gordon Gilbert. Although repeal action has been contained in tax reform bills for years, it has been struck down before reaching revenue hearings.
Representatives from the Massachusetts Business Aviation Association, Massachusetts Airport Management Association, NBAA and fractional operator PlaneSense addressed the state Senate last week. The speakers noted that there is scant data on what the tax revenue would be if the exemption were repealed, but there is extensive data on the adverse economic impact repeal would have on Massachusetts-based aviation companies in terms of lost revenue and jobs, as customers transfer sales and service transactions to tax-exempt New Hampshire, Connecticut and (come October) New York.
In Westfield, Mass., Gulfstream operates one of its largest service centers. The facility serves the U.S. northeast, “the busiest corridor for Gulfstream business jets in the world,” according to the manufacturer.
Business aviation is vital to our national economy, driving revenues and providing jobs in all 50 states. But the states with the most jobs are those whose tax policies regarding aviation are not burdensome to the companies that build their businesses there.
[ulp id=’VABdJLsvmw27IMUj’]