Flickr user Inferno.Mike

Update October 12: The Island Packet reports the change has passed with a bit of debate; get the story here.

First reporting:

If you have an aircraft registered in Beaufort County you're presently forced to cough up a 10.5% rate in property taxes on it, which is quite a bit more than the 6% rate for cars and recently reduced 6% rate for boats.

And Beaufort County Council is getting close to making the airplane rate 6%, too, and will hear public comments and give consideration of a third and final reading approval at today's, October 11, 4 p.m. meeting at the Administration Building at 100 Ribaut Road. The tax item is slated to be taken up at 6 p.m.

The Island Packet has a nice write-up about what the various council members think; read their report here.

It seems surprising that a revenue-cutting measure is gaining traction now and when it's not clear this would bring many new registrations to Beaufort County.

If you plan to go, you can check out the meeting agenda over here, and you should be able to watch it live over here.