Sat, Jul 16, 2011
Doubling Fees Will Burden Passengers, Impact Demand, Cost
Jobs
The Air Transport Association of America (ATA) has called on
lawmakers to drop proposals to increase aviation passenger taxes to
address the national debt limit, saying that hiking aviation taxes
would slow economic recovery, further burden customers and cost
jobs.
"We oppose any increase in aviation passenger taxes," ATA
President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio (pictured, above) said in
a news release Thursday. "The industry already pays more than its
fair share of taxes - more than alcohol and tobacco products that
are taxed at levels to discourage their use. Today on a typical
$300 round-trip ticket, passengers already pay $63 in taxes and
fees."
The industry's non-income tax burden has grown from $3.7 billion
in 1993 to approximately $17 billion now. In 2010, U.S. airlines
and their passengers contributed $3.4 billion in taxes and fees to
the Department of Homeland Security, including $2 billion in taxes
and fees to the Transportation Security Administration - a 50
percent increase from the amount collected in 2002. "No other
industry or mode of transportation pays for its security as
airlines do, even though it is clear that the terrorists targeting
commercial aircraft are not attacking the airlines themselves but
rather the U.S. economy and our way of life," Calio said.
"This is absolutely unacceptable; we should advance a tax policy
that encourages air service to grow, not contract," added Calio.
"Airlines are critical to the nation's economic health. Commercial
aviation drives $1.2 trillion in economic activity and more than 5
percent of U.S. gross domestic product each year -- and is
responsible for 11 million jobs. Every 100 airline jobs support
about 388 jobs outside of the industry."
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