The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Last week the city of Rochester, NH, mailed out tax bills to the renters of hangars at Skyhaven airport (KDAW). Now the airport is within the city limits of Rochester. However, the airport is owned by the State of New Hampshire but managed by the PDA (Pease Development Authority) who also manages the old Pease airbase. Pease has been a joint civil/military airport now for about 20 years with a national guard contingent.
For years the State has been trying to get rid of the airport and offered it to Rochester. The city of Rochester turned it down. Needless to say there are a lot of angry people at the airport now. And the timing was excellent. This Friday, the 10th) there is an airport meeting and barbeque. I'm taking the evening off from work to go. I'm wondering if something like this is happening at other airports. One thing that bothers me is if the city gets away with this will the county or any other governments get any bright ideas?

One resource is the AOPA Airport Support Network. Your AOPA ASN volunteer at KDAW is Bambi Miller. You can find her on the AOPA web site, here: http://www.aopa.org/asn/getv.html. You can let AOPA know what's happening, and ask their ASN people for ideas about what you can do. Good luck!

So could you tell me what the tax bill is for that you received. What authority could the city have to tax you for land you don't own. Can't be a property tax you don't own it. Can't be a use tax, they don't own the land.

Rereading your post the tax bill might be on the rental. Who are they collecting it for and what authority do they have to impose it.

Many states collect property tax from government owed properties from the renters.

lowNslow,

You're absolutely correct, and one of them is Amador County in California. I know, because I have to pay it. I pay the airport
$43.00/mo. ground rental and I get a tax bill yearly from Amador County for use of government land which is about equal to what I would have to pay if I owned the land.

blueldr wrote:lowNslow,

You're absolutely correct, and one of them is Amador County in California. I know, because I have to pay it. I pay the airport
$43.00/mo. ground rental and I get a tax bill yearly from Amador County for use of government land which is about equal to what I would have to pay if I owned the land.

Soo.... if you refused to pay it.. would the gov't re-possess the land?

I take it their logic is that the land is "in-use" and the lessor receives the benefits of ownership, therefore owes an equivalent amount of taxes of the private-use.

Actually, I sometimes think they do it just to piss everyone off.

In California (contra costa county) I pay a separate annual property tax bill on a county owned rental hangar based on some assessed value of the rented asset. Of course I pay the rent to the same county. Is it too much to ask that the tax be included in the rent, like renting a house or apartment? No, that would be too simple for a government to deal with...

I suppose that failure to pay tne discussed tax would result in a tax lein against the building owned by the renter. It does seem to be a stupid system since the rent paid for the land and the tax both go to the same county. It appears to me that it would be more business like to just put it all in one bill paid monthly. Perhaps if I were to be itemizing deductions on my personal income tax, the portion paid to the county as a tax might be deductable.

falco wrote:In California (contra costa county) I pay a separate annual property tax bill on a county owned rental hangar based on some assessed value of the rented asset. Of course I pay the rent to the same county. Is it too much to ask that the tax be included in the rent, like renting a house or apartment? No, that would be too simple for a government to deal with...

Well, at least with it not included in the rent you can deduct it on your Federal taxes. Actually a large chunk of the property tax goes to the state as well.

Chances are the rental fees and the taxes are actually accounted for seperately by agency-divisions... i.e. deposited under seperate spreadsheets/bank accounts....and that is why one agency must seperate the two transactions.

I'm confused. Is the tax bill for taxes on the hangar or the airplane?

In the great State of Georgia, most counties send a tax bill to the good folks who rent hangars asking the renter to state the value of the airplane housed within and pay a personal property tax on it, much like the taxes on a car.

I have a hangar rented in Thomaston, GA (KOPN), yet I've been living out of state. This spring they sent me a form to fill out asking about my airplane, the value, and whether I lived inside the city limits or not. I filled it out, with my out of state address, and haven't heard a thing back from them. I doubt if they know how to bill an out of state resident for their local taxes so I might just slip through the cracks. Or they might hunt me down and fine me for everything I have for not paying on time. We'll see.

Keith

KG wrote:I'm confused. Is the tax bill for taxes on the hangar or the airplane?

Keith

In California it's both. I pay about $146 in property tax for the hangar I rent from the airport district and about $375 in prop. tax for my 170. You can get out of paying taxes on the airplane if you can show it has been shown as a "historical aircraft" (35 years or older) 12 days per year but doing the paperwork and the fuel to get to places were you can show the airplane may not make it worthwhile.

If any of you guys need help in becoming a citizen of Texas, (where there is no such thing as state income taxes, and silly things such as personal property taxes, hangar rental taxes, etc. are largely unknown or easily deferred..) then come on down!
We've got lots of airports, good flying weather, cold beer, spicy/smoked bar-b-que, potato salad, beans, the prettiest, friendly women, rolling hills, gun shows, clean beaches, blue-water lakes, and wide-open spaces!
So.... Bring your dark glasses for viewing stars at night and measurements for boots and hat, practice your drawl.... and YA'LL COME!