State Tax Agencies: FAA Should Maintain Access to Private Aircraft Data
States rely on private aircraft owner data to collect millions in tax revenue annually, so the Federal Aviation Administration shouldn’t block access to it, state tax agencies said in comments to the agency.
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The FAA on April 3 requested comment on potential regulatory changes that could result in withholding of registration information from public display. Removing the data is intended to satisfy Section 803 of the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act, which requires “removal of private aircraft owner or operator Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from broad dissemination or display by FAA,” according to the agency. Comments were due June 4, and the agency posted through Thursday.
Tax agencies in Colorado, Florida, Utah, Idaho and Missouri, as well as a local tax entity in California, argued that withholding of registration information could result in millions of lost tax revenue.
The Colorado Department of Revenue noted Section 803 of the FAA Reauthorization Act “provides an explicit exception from the withholding requirements for ‘furnished data or information made available to or from a Government agency pursuant to a government contract, subcontract, or agreement.’”
Colorado “accesses and downloads registered owner information from the FAA website on a monthly basis and periodically searches the FAA website when investigating particular cases,” the department said. “The information is used to ensure that all taxpayers are paying their fair share of taxes owed to the state of Colorado and its political subdivisions.”
The FAA had asked specifically about the impact on “privacy, safety, commerce, and accessibility of information if the identified categories of registered owner information are removed from public availability.”
The Utah State Tax Commission said this change would “impact the State of Utah General Fund by approximately $3 [million] to $5 million per year.”
Santa Clara County in California claimed “property tax revenue of approximately $16 million may be at risk in Santa Clara County alone.”
Colorado recommended the FAA “establish clear rules and procedures that ensure complete and uninterrupted access by government agencies prior to removing any public data.”
The Florida Department of Revenue suggested a “restricted, secure portal through which verified state agencies, such as the FDOR, can access aircraft registration data. This would ensure that PII is protected from public dissemination while allowing legitimate regulatory functions to continue uninterrupted.”
The Idaho State Tax Commission similarly recommended a way for state agencies to log in and access the data securely. The Missouri Department of Revenue also argued against blocking access.