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All, judging from my experience here in Germany, rising taxes on fuel or adding fees for the use of ATC will lead to nothing but sorting the people who fly. There is only a certain amount available to us that are not allowed to offset any of the costs for flying. Have this in mind - the FAA orders us not to share the costs. Let's say I have $200 a month available for flying. I spend all that in aviation fuel or autogas (but that will be less with the advance of ethanol in autogas). A certain amount of the money spent is available to the tax pool. If that taxed is raised, I still have only $200 available, but will get less flying hours out of the gas purchased because I get less gas. So I can fly less. If then ATC becomes a cost factor, I need to subtract that from the purchase power for gasoline, making me buy less gasoline, thus the government collect less taxes and my estimate is that the cost for the administration of collecting user fees will cost the user fees, so the government will make not more money, but less. But there will be a few more work places financed by the few flights that are left to us. But since we fly less and less, even those places will be soon in need of tax-payer support. If that then is getting compensated with higher taxes and fees, we are in a downward spiral that eliminates GA and puts aviation enthusiasts on their flight simulators or into their model building shop. That's how it is here in Germany. Hartmut ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gonzalez, Robert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Ercoupe Hangar Flying" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 2:49 PM Subject: [COUPERS-FLYIN] RE: Digest list: Ercoupe Hangar Flying ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]---- Scott, ""more than triple" the tax on aviation fuel". And some people wonder why more people don't get into flying, well, here is one good reason why they don't! Plus the fact that it cost $2.00+ dollars a gallon at your local gas station to fuel your car to drive to the field. I had to fill my car up with gasoline last week, I had to decide, do I buy a tank of gas or do I make my house payment! A s-t-r-e-t-c-h to make a point. To me flying is a hobby so I "allow myself" or "set aside", a certain amount of money for fuel. If I want to keep flying, it's what I have to do, especially since I fly on a "shoestring" (budget). To some (including me), it will be (at first) fly less often and for a shorter duration, which everyone knows, eventually leads to not fly at all. I clearly understand what you are saying! With the tax, it's going to make it just that much harder. WOW talk about squeezing pilots out, that will surely do it!!! The "little guy" like me doesn't stand a chance! Thanks, Flyin' Bob -----Original Message----- From: Ercoupe Hangar Flying [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 2:01 AM To: Ercoupe Hangar Flying Subject: Digest list: Ercoupe Hangar Flying ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]---- Message list: 1. [COUPERS-FLYIN] User fees and other garbage 2. Re: [COUPERS-FLYIN] User fees and other garbage 3. Re: [SPAM] Re: [COUPERS-FLYIN] User fees and other garbage Messages: From: Scott Morgan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: flyin ercoupe <[email protected]> Reply-To: Scott Morgan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [COUPERS-FLYIN] User fees and other garbage Fellow Coupers If we thought the new proposed user fees were bad enough, I read in my local newspaper that another proposal would be to "more than triple" the tax on aviation fuel. I am not sure what the taxes amount to now but they are most likely substantial. Tripling those taxes along with the user fees will probably limit flying for a lot of us. I encourage you to write a letter, email or contact in person your Senators and Congressmen to express your concerns. I feel it is urgent that we all do our part and not expect AOPA, EAA and the other aviation organizations to do it all for us!! Thanks Scott Morgan --------------------------------- Looking for earth-friendly autos? Browse Top Cars by "Green Rating" at Yahoo! Autos' Green Center. ---------------------------- From: "AJ DeMarzo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "flyin ercoupe" <[email protected]> Reply-To: "AJ DeMarzo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [COUPERS-FLYIN] User fees and other garbage AOPA informed us about a week ago that this new proposal would raise the taxes on aviation fuel by 4X. Not only that, you could expect to be charged for weather reports, flight following, preflight briefings and of course, just using the air system. AOPA has been leading the fight on this for months and it needs out support, NOW! If you don't belong to AOPA, I strongly suggest you join. If you already belong, let your significant other join if you can afford it. There are strength in numbers and we need that strength right now. Your 35 or 40 bucks will go a heck of a long way to insure that the air traffic system does not become privatized with the likes of former airline executives running it. Our European list members should lend a hand and tell what they're paying to find the $100 hamburger. It ain't pretty. I'll attach a story or two from this morning's ANN. There's a whole lot more to the issue than what I pasted. This is a free e-news letter, so if you're too cheap to join AOPA, at least you can read about what's happening. If you can't see it or want to read more about your future, go to www.aero-news.net GA In The Crosshairs: FAA Releases Its Plan For Funding Plan Cuts Costs For Airline Passengers, Shifts Burden To Private Pilots And Biz-Av ANN REALTIME REPORTING 02.14.07 1115 EST: It may be Valentine's Day, but the FAA is showing no love for general aviation. Today, Administrator Marion Blakey (right) unveiled details of its funding plan the agency says will reduce aviation congestion, improve passenger airline travel, and cut down on noise for communities near major airports. The FAA says the proposed legislation, called the Next Generation Air Transportation System Financing Reform Act of 2007, would replace the decades-old system of collecting ticket taxes with a cost-based funding program that relies on a combination of user-fees, taxes and a federal government contribution to support the development of a new, satellite-based, air traffic control system. "This new proposal will make flying more convenient for millions of travelers," said Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters. "Anyone who has experienced the frustration and inconvenience of a delayed flight should take a very close look at what we're proposing." The Administrator states the so-called NextGen air traffic control system will take full advantage of the latest satellite-based technologies, allowing the FAA to handle more aircraft, maintain high levels of safety, reduce flight delays, and cut noise near airports. Blakey states the new system is essential if the agency is to keep pace with growing demand for passenger and cargo flights -- which will lead to between two-and-three times more air traffic by 2025, she added. The bill aims to eliminate the domestic passenger ticket tax for airline travelers, and reduce the international arrival and departure tax by 50 percent -- which the agency says will reduce the overall burden to both the airlines and the traveling public. It will generate revenues based on the costs that users impose on the air traffic system -- whether they are commercial, business or general aviation users. "Our proposal will make it easier for airports, airlines and controllers to keep pace with the skyrocketing demand for air travel this nation is going to experience over the coming decades," said Blakey. "With over a billion passengers expected in the air by 2015, we have to act now or risk gridlock in our skies and on our taxiways." The legislation also provides new borrowing authority that can be used by the FAA to support the construction of new runways, airport terminals and air traffic control facilities and equipment. It also calls for the establishment of a new advisory board that will give members of the aviation community a stronger say in how federal funds are invested in aviation, while maintaining strong congressional and public oversight in recognition of the importance of aviation to the nation. The legislative proposal makes several changes designed to improve the ability of airports to meet capital needs and proposes to reform the Passenger Facility Charge Program to enable large and medium sized airports to raise local funds for vital construction projects. It also will restructure the Airport Improvement Program by better targeting Federal funds. And the bill funds research into new engine and airframe technology that will reduce aircraft noise and engine emissions. Current FAA funding expires on September 30, 2007 -- an event the FAA states provide a 'unique opportunity' to create a system that better serves travelers. FMI: www.faa.gov ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------- AOPA: FAA Using 'Weasel Words' To Sell 'Manufactured Crisis' Boyer Calls Funding Plan A "Power Grab"... Kids, The Gloves Are Off The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) blasted the administration's proposed FAA refinancing bill as a "manufactured crisis based on flawed financial assumptions about the viability of the current funding system and the cost of the 'NextGen' air traffic control system." "Our government is backing away from the safest and most efficient air transportation system in the world, and setting in motion the steps towards privatization," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "This proposal is nothing more than a cynical attempt to shift FAA costs to a different set of taxpayers, and to take control of the agency away from Congress and put in the hands of unelected bureaucrats and airline executives. "It doesn't save money, and it doesn't make the FAA more efficient," Boyer continued. "This bill would be disaster for consumers, general aviation pilots, and all the communities ignored by the airlines that depend upon general aviation for safety, commerce, and air transportation." Senior FAA officials briefed Boyer and other aviation industry leaders on the "Next Generation Air Transportation System Financing Reform Act of 2007" Wednesday, prior to releasing the text to the public. No justification for change The FAA has attempted to argue that it needs to change the financing system in order to pay for the NextGen air traffic control modernization program. "We support the need to modernize, but listen to the weasel words carefully," said Boyer (right). "They never say that the current, proven tax system can not raise necessary funds for NextGen." In fact, AOPA notes, the administration's bill would raise less money than the current tax structure -- $600 million less in the first year, according the President's fiscal year 2008 budget submission. The Department of Transportation's own projections show the current funding system would generate more than $20 billion through 2012 for the FAA's Facilities & Equipment account. That would almost double the amount that the FAA has spent on equipment and modernization over the last five years, and it confirms AOPA's earlier analysis of available revenues under the current tax system. And when asked point blank by aviation subcommittee Chairman Jerry Costello during a hearing Wednesday if the current tax system could fund NextGen, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey reluctantly admitted that it would. "It begs the question, what is the problem we are trying to solve?" said Boyer. The administration also claims its proposed financing system "provides tax relief" -- a claim Boyer called a semantic game, designed to mislead. "Whether you call it a tax or a user fee, the consumer -- airline passengers and GA pilots -- still have to pay it," said Boyer. "The tax burden may shift from one group to another, but the only 'relief' is from Congressional oversight of an agency that has a history of overspending and mismanaging large modernization projects." The proposal would, in fact, more than quadruple the taxes that individual pilots pay. Nine out of 10 general aviation pilots have told AOPA that they would quit flying were taxes to increase that much... and who knows how many pilots would forego such vital safety services as flight following and en route weather updates, if they were required to pay for them. As also noted also by the National Business Aviation Association -- which has worked closely with AOPA to present a united front against the FAA's proposal -- AOPA says the plan puts Congress in the backseat when it comes to the agency's largest "line of business" -- air traffic control. The authority to set user fees and spend money for air traffic control would rest with the FAA administrator, and the airline-dominated Air Transportation System Advisory Board. "As much as I respect Administrator Blakey, I don't believe that the American public should be comfortable with all of that power in the hands of one czarina," said Boyer. "This is in essence a blank check that pilots and airline passengers will have to fund." And FAA spending can spiral out of control unless held in check by Congress. "You need the checks and balances of the US Congress," said former Department of Transportation Inspector General Ken Mead recently. He recalled that Congress had shut down the microwave landing system and the previous attempt at modernization - the advanced automation system (AAS) - when it had gone well over budget. "I had to testify more times than I can recall on AAS," said Mead, "and it is a fact that it was stopped in its tracks by the checks and balances of Congress." Proposal Cuts AIP Funds The administration also promises its new FAA financing bill would reduce congestion and alleviate passenger delays. Yet its proposals cut Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding by some 21 percent over current authorized levels. "The airlines' hub-and-spoke system frequently schedules more aircraft than the airport can handle," said Boyer. "No amount of air traffic control improvement can change the immutable laws of physics -- two airplanes cannot occupy the same spot on the runway at the same time. To reduce congestion you must either reschedule some airline flights to less desirable times or build more runways. Simple as that." Who should pay? The administration contends that the financing system must be changed because, "taxes paid by users of the system have no direct link to the costs they impose." "I can think of no government program in which there is a direct link between individual taxes and individual costs," said Boyer. For federally-funded highways, drivers in more populous states "subsidize" construction in rural areas. Local roads are frequently paid for by general taxes, not direct taxes on drivers. Public education is funded by all taxpayers, not just those with children in school. In a previous generation, farms were electrified because the government, not the individual consumers, paid for it. Our income tax is calibrated not on government services consumed, but on ability to pay. "Our current tax system has reliably served the needs of the FAA for nearly forty years, and it has always provided the money FAA has needed for rational, well-planned modernization programs," said Boyer. "We have created the most vibrant, robust air transportation system in the world, that serves all citizens, pilot and non-pilot alike. "If we adopt a user-fee system like other countries of the world, we'll become just like them," said Boyer. "Average citizens will no longer be able to afford to fly, many of the services general aviation provides to rural areas will cease to exist, and only the rich and the airlines will continue to benefit from the investments all of us have made in our air transportation system." FMI: www.aopa.org Al DeMarzo Visit the Ercoupe Swap Page - Free and Easy http://www.ercoupeowners.com/swap/swapbook.htm ----- Original Message ----- From: Scott Morgan To: flyin ercoupe Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 7:39 AM Subject: [COUPERS-FLYIN] User fees and other garbage ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]---- Fellow Coupers If we thought the new proposed user fees were bad enough, I read in my local newspaper that another proposal would be to "more than triple" the tax on aviation fuel. I am not sure what the taxes amount to now but they are most likely substantial. Tripling those taxes along with the user fees will probably limit flying for a lot of us. I encourage you to write a letter, email or contact in person your Senators and Congressmen to express your concerns. I feel it is urgent that we all do our part and not expect AOPA, EAA and the other aviation organizations to do it all for us!! Thanks Scott Morgan ---------------------------- From: Karl Sutterfield <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "AJ DeMarzo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,"flyin ercoupe" <[email protected]> Reply-To: Karl Sutterfield <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [SPAM] Re: [COUPERS-FLYIN] User fees and other garbage At 07:58 AM 2/15/2007, AJ DeMarzo wrote: >I'll attach a story or two from this morning's ANN. ... This is a free >e-news letter, so if you're too cheap to join AOPA, at least you can >read about what's happening. [emphasis added] > > www.aero-news.net > Amen. Membership in AOPA, EAA, and regional associations doesn't cost much, and it's an investment in self-protection ... like putting deadbolts on your doors. (Not that I'm saying politicians are thieves, of course. ;) Karl Sutterfield N9532V, Mooney M10 Cadet s.n. 700022 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Box 294150 Kerrville, TX 78029 830-257-5458 home office 830-257-5468 fax 830-285-7323 cell ---------------------------- ======================================================================== ====== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm ============================================================================ == To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm ============================================================================== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm
