The New York State Senate and Assembly passed, as part of the state budget, a job-creating initiative to stimulate New York’s aviation industry and support the state’s airports and the communities they serve.
Known as the New York Aviation Jobs Act, the measure was advanced with the strong support of the New York Aviation Management Association (NYAMA), an organization of over 13,000 members and affiliate members, 120 commercial service and general aviation airports, fixed based operators, consultants, engineers and other aviation industries and professionals who believe that serious economic development efforts at the state and regional level necessitate strong public investment in our aviation assets and facilities.
“We commend the Legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo for agreeing to eliminate the regionally-unique state tax penalty for aircraft ownership that makes New York uncompetitive and is stifling the growth of the aviation industry,” said Michael Giardino, President of the New York Aviation Management Association (NYAMA) and Director of Aviation for the Greater Rochester International Airport. “By enacting this tax exemption, New York will be better able to compete with our neighboring states for aviation-related good-paying and permanent jobs.”
The State budget agreement includes language that will exempt general aviation aircraft defined as any aircraft used in civil aviation that is not a commercial aircraft from the state’s sales and use tax. The budget language was championed by NYS Senator Philip Boyle (R-Bay Shore) and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D-Endwell) and seeks to reform the state’s aviation taxes to allow New York to better compete with neighboring states for job-creating business aircraft.
Senator Boyle and Assemblywoman Lupardo are co-chairs of the bi-partisan New York Legislative Aviation Caucus which has over 119 members from both houses. “As Chairman of Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business, I applaud the passage of the sales and use tax exemption for general aviation aircraft in this year’s budget,” Senator Boyle said. “Airports across New York depend on business from general aviation aircraft that we have been losing to neighboring states. This exemption will bring increased traffic to our airports, resulting in more state and local revenues, and ultimately more jobs for New Yorkers.”
“In order for New York’s aviation industry to be competitive, the tax structure of almost all of our surrounding states needed to be matched. Aviation is an industry that already employs well over 400,000 with an $18 billion per year payroll in New York, and the overall economic impact of aviation will significantly improve as a result of this action,” said Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, Co-Chair of the NY Legislative Aviation Caucus.
The new measure will exempt general aviation aircraft and machinery or equipment that is installed on these aircraft from the state’s sales and use taxes beginning September 1, 2015. The current tax is seen as a financial barrier to aircraft locations to New York because most other surrounding states do not charge sales taxes or have more favorable tax treatment for such aircraft sales and basings. New York lost over 700 of these planes over a ten-year period.
