American Airlines, CLT optimistic about fuel tax exemption making it through NC budget talks

CHARLOTTE — State lawmakers from the Charlotte region and aviation industry advocates are confident that North Carolina’s tax exemption on commercial jet fuel will be extended as part of the General Assembly’s budget, expected to be completed next month.

Joe Bost, chief advocacy officer at the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, told CBJ this week that an extension of the tax exemption “has been a long-standing priority” and seems likely to pass as part of the fiscal year 2024 budget. That budget will likely be approved in mid-August, lawmakers have said.

“Based on the asset that Charlotte Douglas International Airport is and the economic development created by having the hub, we are grateful that this is moving in the right direction,” Bost said.

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American Airlines Group Inc. operates the hub mentioned by Bost, accounting for 88% of CLT’s traffic. The airline has 13,500 employees here.

“We appreciate the support from policymakers at the state level,” Tracy Montross, American’s regional director of government affairs, told CBJ. The exemption applies to all fuel use for interstate commercial and cargo aviation.

Montross pointed out that if the tax was reinstated and collected again by the state, federal law requires that all revenue must be spent on airport-related projects and programs and could not be used for anything else.

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