In California a state appeals court ruled that San Mateo County is entitled to collect property taxes on a Chinese airline’s lease and landing rights at San Francisco International Airport.
Air China, a government-owned airline based in Beijing, argued the taxes were illegal under a treaty between the United States and China that prohibits each country from imposing income taxes on the other nation’s shipping and air transport enterprises.
But a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal in San Francisco said unanimously that taxes on the lease and landing rights were property taxes, not income taxes.
Stephen Nelson, a lawyer for the airline, said the taxes collected by the county since 2000 amounted to tens of thousands of dollars.
Peninsula, a local Internet site, reported that Nelson said he would have to consult with his client before deciding whether to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
