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Stafford supervisors slash tax rate on airplanes Date published: 3/18/2009
BY JONAS BEALS
Aircraft owners in Stafford County can breathe a little easier today. With a 5-2 vote last night, the Board of Supervisors agreed to advertise a lower personal property tax rate on aircraft: a dime per $100 of assessed value versus the current rate of $3. The proposed new aircraft rate comes on the heels of a budget proposal that contains the first personal property tax rate increase on vehicles in 19 years. The rates have not yet been adopted, and will be discussed at a public hearing on April 7. The county administrator has said that 95 percent of citizens would see their bill go up by less than $50. In 2008, personal property taxes were levied on 46 aircraft in the county, resulting in $84,369.30 of revenue. Under the proposed rate, those same planes would have generated approximately $2,800. Supervisors Joe Brito and Bob Woodson voted against the cut.
According to representatives from the Stafford Regional Airport Authority, the rate cut is a critical step that could save the airport from financial ruin.
"The tax rate is 120 times that of the Manassas Airport," SRAA member Hank Scharpenberg told the board. "That rate is the greatest impediment to the solvency and future potential of our airport. We are not committing ourselves to what could be a viable asset to the county."
Scharpenberg and SRAA Chairman Walt George argued that it is impossible to draw recreational and commercial pilots to Stafford when the nearby Manassas airport has a tax rate of one penny. The results, they say, are stunted revenues from hangar rentals and fuel taxes. For Stafford County, unmet revenue potential at the airport could be particularly costly. Because federal funds were used to construct a portion of the airport, the county accepted a moral obligation to support the airport financially. Currently, the airport is facing a $235,000 shortfall for fiscal year 2010.
"I don't like coming to you hat in hand," Scharpenberg told the board. "We want to attract corporate clients who will bring jobs. If there is not a competitive business environment, I see no other option than to subsidize the airport."
We could apply the same logic to boats, RVs and even cars (after the State subsidy on cars ends). The County is considering a 25% increase in PP tax that will all but kill RV & recreational boating in Stafford. It's already run many boat & RV owners to other locales that have fairer PP tax rates with a siginificant loss in business revenue & JOBS to Stafford. I seriously doubt these short-sighted, simple-minded politicians will ever understand the ramifications of punitive taxation.
Sometimes it does prevail, even with this
BOS!
Before the aircraft tax rate was increased, there were numerous corporations looking to move operations to Stafford county. The county got greedy and raised the taxes and all the corporations said no thanks. Now they might come back. Too bad the idiot county leaders didn't keep a lower tax from the beginning. They lost millions of tax income and jobs because of it.
The county supervisors are concerned about the citizens. That is why they reduced the tax rate...to attract BUSINESS aircraft to Stafford to generate other tax revenue for the county. Without this tax incentive to bring in businesses to the airport, we have a very large airfield that is supposed to be supported by 49 residents? The supervisors took the long term view and made the right call.
this is so long overdue. Moving along to boats now.....
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