EDITORIAL: Separate tax rate should be created for corporate planes at Culpeper Regional

June 19--At the June Culpeper County Board of Supervisors meeting, the possibility of lowering the personal property taxes on aircraft was breached.

Generally not a popular top of discussion, the reasoning behind lowering the taxes is to draw in more corporate aircraft, which will help the Culpeper Regional Airport become self sustainable.

Already, the airport is close to being self sustaining. In 1998, there were 98 aircraft at the field with an operating cost of $342,000. Forty-eight percent of that cost was paid for by revenue with 42 percent coming from county funding. Just 10 percent came from property tax revenue.

In 2011, there 132 aircraft at the field with an operating cost of $720,000 -- 97 percent of which was paid for by airport revenue and just 3 percent by personal property tax.

The biggest beef among constituents is that the personal property tax for vehicles is $3.50, while aircraft is just 63 cents.

But the personal property tax on planes is lower in an attempt to attract more planes to Culpeper County.

The real money is made by aircraft owners paying to hangar their planes and helicopters at Culpeper's airport.

The theory is that if more planes use Culpeper County's airport, then more money will be generated for the county.

Using that logic, Bill Flathers of the Culpeper Regional Airport Advisory Committee recommended lowering the personal property tax for aircraft to the lowest permissible level earlier this week.

While we've supported creating a separate designation for corporate aircraft, the public hasn't been as receptive. In a recent online poll, 78 percent of voters said they would not support the BOS lowering the tax rate for aircraft.

The BOS, if it decides to lower the tax, faces an uphill battle of changing public perception. We still hope they create a separate designation, which would be easier to explain.

Should the BOS consider lowering the tax rate for aircraft?

Yes -- 20 votes -- 21.1%

No -- 75 votes -- 78.9%

Total votes: 95

Copyright 2012 - Culpeper Star-Exponent, Va.