New York Senate Passes Aircraft Tax Exemption Bill

New York’s state Senate last week passed legislation (S.3655) sponsored by Sen. Bill Larkin (R-39th District) to provide a sales and use tax exemption on general aviation airplanes to be operated under Part 91 and purchased in the state. The exemption, if passed by the state Assembly and signed by the governor, would take effect on December 1. “This bill would make New York competitive with other [nearby] states that already exempt sales taxes related to aviation activities,” Larkin said. Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New Hampshire already exempt general aviation aircraft from sales and use taxes. A spokesperson for Larkin told AIN that the bill was introduced because of concern that Cessna would move its Citation service center from Stewart Airport in Newburgh, N.Y. However, a Cessna spokesman said that, to his knowledge, the company “has never expressed any desire to leave Stewart,” adding that general aviation “contributes $9.3 billion [annually] to the New York economy, a sizable part of the state’s economy.”