Jay Maynard wrote:

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"Brought into Florida" is awfully broad.

It's really not. Virtually every state that has a Sales tax has a Use
tax. It is so that if you live or have an ongoing connection with a
state you can't get around paying the sales tax buy purchasing an item
in another state.

Here are some example of when a Use tax would be due.

You order from a mail order company that has no establishment in your
home state. Technically you are supposed to pay Use tax.

You have a business and are exempt from Sales tax for items that are
purchased for resale. Let's say you purchase 12 widgets. You put 11 of
them up for sale and keep one for either personal or business use. You
owe Use tax on widget number 12.

Now I will admit that the way the Florida law and tax regulation is
written in regards to aircraft is **** poor. But the spirit behind the
law is not to charge for Use of their airspace. It is so FL residents
don't buy an aircraft in FL. Fly to some state that doesn't have a sales
tax or otherwise have a good way to get around sales taxes on aircraft
and then fly it back. What makes the issue more tricky than say a car is
that unlike a car you don't have to get a state specific license for an
aircraft which shows that the car is registered and taxed somewhere else.

There is no true example of say a pilot from Arkansas purchasing a plane
in FL or Arkansas and then that pilot taking a vacation to FL and
getting taxed.