A coalition of environmental organizations EU and the United Kingdom presented this Thursday a proposal for Frequent Flight Tax (TVF) with which to mitigate the growing social, economic and environmental impacts of air transport in Europe. The TVF applies an increasing rate to each successive round-trip flight purchased by a person during a given period. Thus, the first I/V ticket would be free of charges, but from the second onwards an increasing rate would be applied, which would be accompanied by additional surcharges for long-distance flights and certain classes such as first and business.
The proposal, which in Spain has been presented by Ecologists in Action. From the environmental entity they highlight that “while other economic sectors have reduced their emissions in the EU, aviation increased by 30% between 2013 and 2019the result of the exponential increase in air traffic.” According to Eurocontrolfurther growth of the sector is expected until 2030 of between 2.4% and 3.7% per year.
On the other hand, the promoting entities denounce the situation of fiscal privilege from which air transport benefits, something that places this industry in an advantageous situation over other means of transport with less impact. The exemption from paying taxes on aviation fuel in the EU, as well as the lack of VAT for international tickets, are some examples of a fiscal hole that in 2022 cost 34,220 million euros to the European Union (4,610 to Spain).
In this context, European organizations also defend the TVF as a proposal with a marked social character, to the extent that it is aimed at taxing the intensive use of the plane as a means of transport, a practice almost exclusive of social groups with higher incomes, while protecting the use of the plane for occasional travelers and less advantaged socioeconomic groups. According to data from the study “Europe talks flying”, in Western Europe, 70% of households with the lowest income (< €23,000/year) do not take a flight at the end of the year. And in Spain, only 4.8% of the population flies more than three times a year, according to data from the aforementioned study.
For the design of the TVF, the promoting entities have worked in coordination with expert consultants with the objective of determining the potential impacts and technical and legal feasibility of the measure. Specifically, the TVF proposal establishes an initial rate of 50 euros starting from the second round-trip flight purchased in a year, a price that increases progressively on successive flights. Likewise, surcharges of between 50 and 100 euros are contemplated depending on the distance and class.
Regarding the possible benefits of the measure, after carrying out an exhaustive study of its social, economic and environmental impact, the organizations highlight that the European implementation of the TVF could generate a 21% reduction in CO₂ emissions from transport air, consequence of a reduction in the number of passengers by 26%.
Regarding the economic aspect, the TVF could achieve an annual collection of 74.1 billion euros in the European Economic Area (EU 27 + Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and the United Kingdom. In the EU27 alone it would be 56.4 billion euros, similar to what was spent on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2021. All this, without harming the classes with lower incomes: this rate would not affect 72% of the population, which is the one that flies little or not at all. In fact, 54% of TVF revenue would come from people who fly more than four times a year, who represent 4.5% of the European population.
Currently, eight EU Member States (Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Portugal and the Netherlands) as well as the United Kingdom have taxes on airline tickets. The total collection obtained from these taxes amounts to 10.4 billion euros.
If the specific data for Spain are taken into account, the studies presented by the promoting organizations suggest that the implementation of a TVF would cause a reduction in CO₂ emissions of 28% and an estimated income generation of approximately 8,000 million euros annually.
Pablo Muñoz Nietocoordinator of the sustainable mobility area of Ecologistas en Acción, has stated: “The tax privileges from which the aviation sector still continues to benefit are socially and economically unacceptable. We need tools that help curb the growing impacts of a highly polluting mode of transport that is fundamentally used by a minority of wealthy people. The Frequent Flight Tax represents a balanced formula to reduce emissions and generate income that can support a transition to more sustainable transport models. All of this, from a perspective of social justice that protects the rights of people who only fly occasionally, that is, the majority of the population.”
#Financing #sustainable #mobility #ecotax #passengers #fly #pollute #Nortes #Focused #periphery
