Well, we're less than a month away from the 2008 tax deadline. I had the opportunity to ask Daniel Cheung, of Aviation Tax Consultants, LLC, a few questions that Pilot Advice readers might find helpful at this time of year. Daniel is a certified public accountant (CPA) who specializes in aviation taxes.

PilotAdvice.com: What kinds of tips can you give to student pilots? Are flight training expenses tax deductible?

DC: Flight training expenses can only be deductible if there is a legitimate business purpose and profit motive for incurring the expenses.

Generally, it is difficult to find a reason to deduct training expenses to acquire a private pilot license.

It is equally difficult to deduct the cost to obtain an ATP rating as this training can lead to a new profession.

PilotAdvice.com: What kinds of aircraft expenses are tax deductible? How do you take these kinds of deductions?

President Obama's recent budget proposal plans to raise $7 billion in "direct user charges". In the spirit of transparency, the Obama administration has made the budget proposal available for public scrutiny. Aviation groups rose to the challenge and found the mention of user fees on page 129 of the document (available here).

The charges, which total about half of the FAA's budget, would begin being collected in 2011. User fees face stiff opposition by the aviation community and previous proposed legislation has failed in the Congress. Lobbying against these fees has already begun.

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