Private jet travel has surged in the US over the last few years and now accounts for one-in-six flights handled by the Federal Aviation Administration's air-traffic controllers.
But this form of travel, enjoyed by the wealthy, is hugely subsidized by average American taxpayers.
Private jet travelers pay just 2% of the taxes used to fund the FAA, according to a report published in May 2023 by the Institute for Policy Studies and Patriotic Millionaires.
Commercial flyers pay a tax on every ticket equivalent to 7.5% of the fare price. But private flyers only pay jet-fuel tax.
Plane tickets have increased in price but jet-fuel costs have stayed steady, meaning commercial travelers are ponying up an increasing portion of the taxes.
Jet fuel taxes made up $186M of more than $8B in tax revenue allocated to the AATF in FY2021 - about 2% of the fund's total tax revenue, the report indicates.
But more than 50% of the AATF's tax revenue ($5.32B) came from passenger taxes.
Private jets use almost 3,000 of the country's smaller airports nor used by commercial airlines but are funded in part by the FAA. So, taxpayers are subsidizing infrastructure that commercial flyers don't use.
The funds the FAA sends to these general aviation airports are generated in large part from taxes on commercial travelers.
Chuck Collins, a coauthor of the report, said this means average Americans are not only suffering from adverse environmental impacts of private jets, but subsidizing that harm.
The report recommends implementing a "short hop" surcharge on private flights shorter than 210 miles and a higher tax on private flights shorter than 100 miles.
But Collins warns of steep opposition from powerful, well-funded industry lobbyists. (Business Insider 01/17/24) The ultra-wealthy who fly private are costing average flyers who won't ever use a private plane a lot of money (yahoo.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment