‘More aviation taxes will hit travel demand, economy’

Geneva:  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Thursday made a strong pitch for global governments to take a re-look at the economic costs of imposing more taxes.
It gave the examples of Africa, where taxes, fees and lack of transparency are significant contributors to making jet fuel costs on average 21 per cent more expensive than the global average, and Mexico, which has recently introduced an environmental tax totalling $37 million annually. In addition, on Wednesday the US announced a budget agreement that will see the minimum security fee rise to $11.20 (from $5) per round trip .“It bears no relation to the cost of providing security and the excess will remain with the treasury. It is estimated to extract nearly $13 billion from the industry over the next 10 years — should it take effect from July 1,” IATA Director Tony Tyler said.
Airlines in India have for long been pointing to the fact that they face many handicaps, including the fact that the domestic cost of aviation turbine fuel is 25-30 per cent higher due to State levies ranging from 4 per cent to over 30 per cent.
In addition, the high cost of operating into airports also makes the cost of operating airlines in India higher than global levels.
Read news in full 12/12/13 Aswini Phadnis/Business Line