DESCRIPTION OF H.R. _____, THE 

“FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION EXTENSION ACT OF 2007” 

Scheduled for Markup 

By the 

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS 

on September 18, 2007 

Prepared by the Staff 

of the 

JOINT COMMITTEE ON TAXATION 

September 14, 2007 

JCX-68-07
i 

CONTENTS 

Page

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 

A. Temporary Extension of Airport and Airway Trust Fund Tax and Expenditure 

Provisions.................................................................................................................................. 2 
1

INTRODUCTION 

The House Committee on Ways and Means has scheduled a markup of H.R. ___, the 

“Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2007,” for September 18, 2007. This 

document,1

 prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, provides a description of 

present law and a description of the bill. The bill provides for a three-month extension of the 

present-law taxes and the purposes for which AATF funds may be expended. 

 1

 This document may be cited as follows: Joint Committee on Taxation, Description of H.R. 

___, the “Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2007” (JCX-68-07), September 14, 2007. 

This document can also be found on our website at www.house.gov/jct. 
2

A. Temporary Extension of Airport and Airway Trust Fund Tax 

and Expenditure Provisions 

Present Law

The Airport and Airway Trust Fund (“AATF”) provides funding for capital 

improvements to the U.S. airport and airway system and funding for Federal Aviation 

Administration (“FAA”) operations and programs, among other purposes. The Internal Revenue 

Code (the “Code”) contains the provisions that dedicate revenues from certain excise taxes to the 

AATF, provide the relevant expenditure provisions governing the purposes for which AATF 

monies may be spent, and set the period for when those expenditures may occur. The excise 

taxes credited to the AATF are (1) taxes imposed on the transportation of persons by air; (2) 

taxes imposed on the transportation of property by air; (3) fuels taxes imposed on gasoline used 

in commercial aviation and noncommercial aviation; and (4) fuels taxes imposed on kerosene 

(jet fuel) and other aviation fuels used in commercial aviation and noncommercial aviation. The 

tables below summarize the various tax rates. 

Table 1.–Taxes on Commercial Aviation 

(other than fuel taxes) 

Tax Type Tax Rate

Domestic air passenger tax 7.5 percent ad valorem tax plus $3.40 per 

domestic flight segment in 2007 

Use of international air facilities tax 

$15.10 per arrival or departure in 2007 ($7.50 

for departures only for domestic segments 

beginning or ending in Alaska or Hawaii) 

Air cargo tax 6.25 percent ad valorem tax 
3

Table 2-Taxes on Fuel Used in Aviation 

Fuel Type 

Tax Rate 

(excluding 0.1 cent for Leaking 

Underground Storage Tank Tax) 

Jet Fuel and liquids other than aviation gasoline

 Commercial aviation ............................................... 4.3 cents per gallon 

 Noncommercial aviation......................................... 21.8 cents per gallon 

 

Aviation gasoline

 Commercial............................................................. 4.3 cents per gallon 

 Noncommercial ...................................................... 19.3 cents per gallon 

 

With the exception of 4.3 cents per gallon of the fuel tax rates, the taxes imposed and 

dedicated to the AATF do not apply after September 30, 2007.2 The AATF expenditure 

authority expires on October 1, 2007. The purposes for which AATF funds may be expended are 

fixed as of the date of enactment of the Vision 100─Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act 

(Pub. L. No. 108-176, December 12, 2003). 

Description of Proposal

The proposal extends the present-law taxes dedicated to the AATF through December 31, 

2007. The taxes are extended at their current rates. The proposal extends the expenditure 

authority for the AATF through December 31, 2007, and adds the extension act as an authorizing 

act for purposes of determining the purposes for which AATF funds may be expended. 

Effective Date

The proposal is effective on the date of enactment. 

 2

 The fuel tax consists of two components: 4.3 cents per gallon dedicated to the AATF and 0.1 

cent per gallon dedicated to the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund. The higher fuel tax 

imposed on noncommercial aviation similarly consists of an AATF component (21.8 cents per gallon for 

jet fuel, 19.3 cents for aviation gasoline) plus 0.1 cent per gallon for the Leaking Underground Storage 

Tank Trust Fund. For an exempt use (such as foreign trade or for the exclusive use of a State or local 

government), only the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund tax of 0.1 cent per gallon applies 

Except where specifically stated, the rates stated in this document are the AATF rates. (i.e., do not include 

the 0.1 cent-per-gallon Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund rate).