(The Center Square) – During a recent public hearing, no one testified in opposition to legislation aimed at stopping the implementation of a “luxury” aircraft tax, and yet the bill (HB 2347) is not expected to advance.
Legislation in 2025 (SB 5801) sponsored by Washington state Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, and signed into law imposes a 10% sales and use tax on the sale or lease of non-commercial aircraft valued above $500,000.
The tax kicks in in April, but testimony during last week’s hearing on legislation to repeal the tax made clear it has already had a negative impact on aviation businesses in Washington.
“It could really set us back and corporations are already moving,” said Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, told The Center Square. “They’re planning to move to other states. It hasn’t even gone into effect yet and people are moving.”
Even before the bill was signed into law in 2025, aviation industry advocates sounded the alarm about unintended consequences that could devastate general aviation in the state.
“The bill threatens aircraft and aircraft component manufacturers by adding to the overall tax burden, and history has demonstrated that luxury taxes do more harm than good,” wrote AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) in an Apr 8, 2025, letter.
The association noted job losses are likely, and “the bill encourages aircraft registrations in tax-friendly jurisdictions, including neighboring states of Oregon and Idaho.”
Dent, a lifelong aviator, tells The Center Square those predictions have proven true, noting that Schweitzer Engineering in Pullman has already relocated some it’s aircraft to Idaho to avoid the tax.
“They have five corporate aircraft, and 8,000 employees, and they use those airplanes to move those employees around,” said Dent. “This is a worldwide company that does business everywhere and they’ve already moved their corporate aircraft to Lewiston, Idaho, to take them out of the state of Washington, so they don’t have to pay this. So, this is a big deal.”
Schweitzer Engineering sent a Nov. 4, 2025, letter to Gov. Bob Ferguson urging him to repeal the tax, and explaining the relocation of their aircraft to Idaho.
“We urge you and your legislators to reconsider this punishing tax burden, so we can return our aircraft to Washington state,” wrote founder and Chairman Edmund Schweitzer III.
Dent told TCS that after the bill passed in 2025, Liias told him they would work together in the interim to address some of the concerns raised by the industry. Liias may still drop a bill this week, but in lieu of that, Dent’s bill to repeal the tax inspired passionate testimony from industry leaders, all of whom urged lawmakers to kill the tax.
Steve Bogner, VP of Flight Operations for Fortive Corporation, told lawmakers they operate a long-range business jet out of Paine Field in Everett, but will not be able to expand if this tax takes effect in April.
“Based on our internal interpretation of the luxury tax bill, this tax could equate to approximately 45% of my annual budget. I can assure you that the bill has the attention of our senior leadership team, and my discussions associated with growing the department, adding a second airplane, are on hold,” Bogner said.
Modern Aviation Regional Vice President Eric Schneider told lawmakers since the law passed, several of their customers have left Washington state.
“There’s a misconception that modern aviation primarily services and supports corporate aircraft for business,” said Schneider. “One of the first individuals to leave has a small private jet that he provides exclusively for transportation of children in rural areas, and flies into Seattle for treatment. Another has a company that has approximately 30,000 employees. His aircraft is gone, and he’s now actively exploring the relocation of those jobs as well. The full financial impact is difficult to quantify, but people are having to relocate or find other employment.”
Brett Smith of Propeller Airports told lawmakers the state is already losing tax revenue because of the yet to be implemented luxury tax.
“I can tell you that in Snohomish County in the past month, they’ve lost $6 million in tax revenue that would have come in from two aircraft that were planning on being based at Paine Field. Not only did the state lose that, but people like me and the airport have lost huge amounts of revenue. For what? I guess Oregon and Idaho are really happy,” Smith said.
One person testified ‘other’ during the hearing, but no one testified in opposition to Dent’s repeal proposal.
The Moses Lake Republican told TCS the aviation industry in Washington is not just about supporting wealthy corporations and their private jets.
“Every other aircraft out there [is impacted] too, like firefighting airplanes, the agricultural aircraft, the helicopters that reach out to the freeways and pick us up in a bad wreck and get people to a hospital to save their lives or transfer them for heart surgery and those kinds of things. So, it’s a big deal,” Dent said.
TCS emailed Liias’s office to inquire about the fate of Dent’s bill and if Liias will be offering legislation to address some of the industry concerns.
“We don’t have any new information to share at this point in session. Feel free to follow up with me in a couple of weeks, though,” wrote Miles Sari, a communications specialist for the Senate Democratic Caucus.
