Wed, Feb 15, 2012
Airline Association Says FY2013 Budget Proposal Seeks To Raise
Billions Of Aviation Dollars, Will Cost Thousands Of Jobs, Impact
Fares, Affect Service
Airlines for America (A4A) said Monday following the release of
President Obama's budget that the White House budget proposal seeks
to offset the deficit on the backs of airline customers by adding
even more tax increases. The group says the budget as it is written
would impact demand for air travel and ultimately cost jobs and
service to communities. If the White House proposal is implemented,
A4A said customers would be paying more in air taxes, meaning fewer
will fly, which in turn will prompt airlines to reduce service,
impacting hundreds of thousands of the 10 million good-paying jobs
that commercial aviation creates.
The White House is proposing over the next five years to triple
the aviation security tax to $7.50 for each one-way trip in 2018,
resulting in an $18 billion government windfall to be used for
deficit reduction – not on aviation security programs. In
addition, the proposal also seeks to add a new $100 per flight tax
with a portion of those proceeds also going toward deficit
reduction.
"It makes absolutely no sense at a time when we should be
encouraging economic and business development enabled by travel and
tourism that we would discourage flying by trying to balance the
budget on the backs of airline customers with yet another tax,"
said A4A President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio. "It is the wrong
approach and counter to leveraging commercial aviation – a
key enabler of job growth and U.S. economic activity. By holding
the line on federal aviation taxes paid by airlines and their
customers, the airlines can maintain jobs and provide much needed
service to communities."
Airline customers today pay about $61 in taxes on a typical $300
ticket, rates higher than alcohol and tobacco, products that are
taxed to discourage use.
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