At press time, NBAA and other aviation alphabet groups continued to fight a proposed bill in the Washington state legislature that would impose a 0.5-percent excise tax on aircraft in the state. House Bill 3176 and accompanying Senate Bill 6873 would base this annual tax on the most recent sales price, depreciated via a state-mandated schedule. “As an example of its impact, if this bill passes, the owner of a $10 million aircraft will pay $50,000 in new taxes each year,” NBAA said. Washington aircraft owners who try to avoid the tax by registering the aircraft in another state would still be liable for the tax, it said. Even more alarming, the legislation would require operators doing business in Washington to pay this tax, regardlessof their base of operations.