In addition, by October 1997, the Secretary of Transportation, after consultation with the Treasury Department, is required to provide Congress with the Administration's recommendations for funding the needs of the aviation system through 2002. We believe it would be inappropriate to propose a specific system of new fees or taxes without the benefit of the Commission's recommendations. The Administration will, of course, be pleased to work with this Committee to develop a long-term financing solution when the study is complete and the Secretary of Transportation has reported his recommendations to Congress. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my written testimony. I will be pleased to answer any questions you or other members of the Committee may have.
Initial information regarding excise tax collections is available only in aggregate form.
No information is available with respect to liability or collections for a particular excise tax source until quarterly returns are filed and completely processed by IRS, usually 6 to 9 months after a taxable quarter has closed. The Treasury Department intends to modify, effective immediately, the regulatory safe-harbor provision on which the airlines relied to provide that when a new tax is imposed, or an expired tax is reinstated, taxpayers must deposit liabilities attributable to the new or reinstated tax on a current basis. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 imposed an additional tax of 4.3 cents per gallon on both commercial and noncommercial aviation fuel. Revenues from this tax, which remains in effect and is not scheduled to expire, are retained in the General Fund. Liabilities incurred for a given year may differ from net receipts to the Trust Fund, due to adjustments made during that year which relate to prior periods.