As NBAA reported earlier this year, the government in Rome is combating its economic problems with a bevy of new fees and taxes
- one of them a levy on all civil aircraft that spend more than 48 hours on the ground in Italy. In the case of aircraft that weigh more than 10,000 kilograms (22,046 pounds), that could mean more than 300,000 ($393,630) in annual
taxes.

Last week, NBAA staff members met with officials at the Italian embassy in Washington, hoping to educate them on the effect this tax will have on commerce between Italy and the United States. The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) is also working with Italian officials to help educate them on the tremendous negative impact the tax will have on aviation throughout Europe.

The tax was originally intended to apply to Italian-registered aircraft only. But then officials became concerned that Italian aircraft owners would re-register their planes in other countries, explained
Scott OBrien a Project Manager in NBAA's Operations Service Group. So they applied it to all aircraft, regardless of nationality. When they did that, they didnt realize the chilling impact it would have on business aircraft traffic to Italy.

NBAA representatives pointed out to Italian officials the positive


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