dutch wrote:

I guess I was just dumb. I live in Illinois but found what I thought was
great hangar space in Indiana. Now the Indiana Revenue folks are after me
like a herd of buffalo to pay a 6% use tax on the value of the a/c just
because I moved it across the line.

Usually sales/use tax applies on a change of ownership. How long have you
owned this airplane before you moved it into Indiana? California is
notorious for its collection of use tax, but if you've owned a piece of
property for at least 3-6 months before it comes into the state, there is no
taxable transaction.

Indiana charges an excise tax in lieu of a personal property tax, and you
can't get out of that if the aircraft is based there, but they shouldn't be
charging you use tax for bringing your own property into the state. If you
were to move your household to Indiana, would they charge you use tax on
your car and all of your home appliances too?

A common provision is that any sales/use tax that you might have paid in
another state when you bought the airplane might be credited against what
Indiana is now demanding.

California has a specialized legal industry for assisting people in the
avoidance of taxes on the purchases of aircraft, boats, RVs, and other big
ticket toys. Depending on how much tax Indiana wants, you might do better
to avail yourself of the services of a competent tax attorney.