The National Association of State Aviation Officials joined the ranks of leading General Aviation (GA) associations this week in forceful 
opposition to user fees for GA flights proposed in President Barack Obama’s proposal for addressing the nation’s deficit and job crises.
Nine associations jointly issued the following statement. "As primary representatives of the general aviation community, we are expressing our unified opposition to the new $100 per flight tax in your proposal. We believe this per-flight tax not only imposes a significant new administrative burden on general aviation operators who currently pay through an efficient per-gallon fuel charge at the pump, but it will also necessitate the creation of a costly new federal collection bureaucracy."
"As you know, the issue of how general aviation can best contribute revenue to the federal government has been the subject of significant study and debate as part of the FAA reauthorization process. After careful consideration, both chambers of Congress have passed bills that endorse the per-gallon fuel charges rather than adopt a per-flight tax similar to the one you propose. In fact, Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives felt so strongly about this issue that 116 members of that body sent you a letter earlier this year saying new aviation charges like the one you are now proposing would be ‘dead on arrival.’
"Mr. President, many foreign countries have imposed per-flight charges on general aviation and the results have been devastating. Please do not go down the dangerous path and cost jobs in our community. "Per-gallon fuel charges work. Per-flight taxes destroy."
Issuing the statement with NASAO were, the Aircraft Electronics Association, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Experimental Aircraft Association, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, Helicopter Association International, the International Council of Air Shows, the National Air Transportation Association and the National Business Aviation Association.
