Here we go again: new aviation tax ?

[Acid-drop]

Of course, I'm in the same case, but it's still fair to me.
It's still a privilege.

[Shanti]

Unbelievable , Brussels airport will lose also a lot of dutch clients!

[Atlantis]

Unbelievable , Brussels airport will lose also a lot of dutch clients!

Not only Brussels Airport but also LGG and CRL

[Conti764]

This is major BS!

Ever since the demise of Sabena there is very little the government has done to help and protect Belgian aviation.

And now the government has been screwing things up for about the last 9 years, a vulnerable industry as aviation in Belgium is going to get hit with a tax to compensate for the bad job done by politicians since 1999...

[Charlie Roy]

And today the Irish government announced that from March 30th 2009 it will impose an extra tax of 10 euros on
plane tickets.

Flying between Belgium and Ireland is about to get very expensive

http://www.rte.ie/money/budget2009/stor ... ettax.html

[Bruspotter]

Hi


Woow, up to 45 EURO per pax extra per flight out of the EU is quite radical I think. I would have estimated 5-10 EUR extra but 45 EURO will make me fly less at least (a shame ), it makes airline tickets seriously more expensive.


Best regards, Yannick

[Megaman]

They steal the money to those who are rich enough to travel. Looks fair to me.
But there is a collateral dammage : the belgian airports will suffer. This kind of measure is stupid in a country where 80% of the population lives less than 1 hour away from the border, and a foreign airport.
The lost in trafic will cost them more than they win with the tax.

I agree with you. We're living rough times (and god only knows if they're gonna get worse or not) and the gvt needs money. You can say that there are other ways to increase income for the gvt but in these times, a lot of people are finding it difficult to have the minimum comfort (food, housing and heating). Taxing people a small amount for a small trip marginally increases the total cost of their trip and is not touching the already weaker part of the population. To make this tax efficient, european harmonization is preferable.

I think we're very much under the true cost of flying. Let alone the environmental cost, I would expect that a service which could get me from Belgium to the south of Spain in less time than it takes me to get there by car would be more expensive.

[Buzz]

Whell, I think it is very much BS, but at least they don't try to hide it as an 'evironmental tax' like the Dutch, and just admit is is to plug the hole in their budget.

[regi]

Thank you for the correction about the return from Paris by our ministers. I based it on the television news where they arrived seperately.( probably straight from the airport than) But I did not know that they flew together to/from Paris.

[LX-LGX]

Chicago Convention, Article 15:

No fees, dues or other charges shall be imposed by any contracting State in respect solely of the right of transit over or entry into or exit from its territory of any aircraft of a contracting State or persons or property thereon.

This is exaclty what the new tax is doing (the airport taxes we now pay are allowed, as they are linked to aviation infrastructure such as airports, CAA, ATC, ...)

[sn26567]

AEA DENOUNCES BELGIAN PLANS FOR AIRLINE PASSENGER TAX

Ill-timed proposal will hurt consumers and businesses, says airline body The Association of European Airlines has challenged the Belgian Government to ‘come clean’ on its proposal to charge a tax on passengers using Belgian airports, and admit that it is a purely money-grabbing exercise which will have no discernible effect on the environment, contrary to Government claims.

The tax proposal, to charge passengers per flight, was announced today in the Prime Minister’s budget speech, in which it was claimed that long-suffering airline passengers would contribute €132 million annually to the Belgian treasury. However, the tax is promoted as a measure to benefit the environment through a reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions.

Said AEA Secretary General Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus: “There is a perverted logic here: either the treasury benefits from passengers paying the tax, or the environment – supposedly – benefits from passengers not flying. You can’t have it both ways”.

Aviation, he said, contributed just 2% to global carbon dioxide worldwide, and Belgian aviation a tiny fraction of that. Moreover, aviation was engaged in a concerted initiative to contain its emissions through a comprehensive programme of technical and operational measures, backed up by its proposed incorporation into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. “I have news for the Belgian Government”, he said; “aviation is already pursuing far greater environmental gains than this tax could possibly deliver. If it really wants to help the environment, it should throw its political weight behind the creation of a Single European Sky so we can begin to save some of the 16 million tonnes of CO2 emitted needlessly each year through airspace inefficiencies”.

“Let us be absolutely clear”, said Mr Schulte-Strathaus; “this is another burden on the Belgian taxpayer and Belgian business. €132 million does not just materialise, it comes out of the pockets of people who already pay Europe’s highest taxes – people who are worried about the security of their savings and investments, and the increasing prices they are having to pay for energy, food and fuel. Travel is a quality-of-life amenity which, in difficult times, takes an extra significance in personal spending decisions. It would be a very unfriendly act indeed to extract still more tax revenue when consumer and business confidence – in Belgium and worldwide – is at such a low ebb”.

AEA press release 14.10.2008

[Kabila]

The only person that has enough power to stop this stupid tax is - in my humble opinion - our dear frind MOL at Ryanair.

I sincerely hope that he will soon send out a strong message to the Belgian politicians that he doesn't want that tax at all. And if they continue with it, Ryanair will stop flying out of Charleroi on the the day that the tax comes into effect.

I tell you... if he threatens them ad he really sticks to his words, the Walloon (mainly socilalist) politicians will shit their pants full, because they will get nightmares when thinking of an empty brand new Charleroi airport. And once MOL manages to divide the Flemish and Walloon politicians, the tax will be dropped.

That's the way things work in Belgium. And in the end, the Walloon politicians always determine the outcome of the government.

Go Michael, go !!!! We know how you brought Charleroi Airport to its knees last time, after the strike... Do us a fovor Michael... do it again. Our coward politicians will listen only to you

[regi]

to all non-Belgians:
the utterly unprofessional remarks by member "Kabila" are in my humble opinion the best analysis of the situation.
Charleroi doesn't come in O'Learry's list of transatlantic hubs. First warning.

If you would do the effort to look at the stock fall of Arcelor-Mittal, that employs so many in the Charleroi and Liège region, and know that they make steel for the car industry that plumeted in september, knowing all this means that we will see lay offs around Charleroi.
We know Ryanairs opinion about the air taxation.

[Acid-drop]

Everything is falling. Dont focus on some narrow sectors.
Several thousand jobs were lost this month in Belgium.

[regi]

Right, but Charleroi is different than other regions.
Some very large , well paying employers ( Caterpillar, Arcelor ) and the airport. It is still one of the regions of Belgium with the highest unemployment rates.

Belgium doesn't need the pennies of an airport tax that only ennoys travellers.
Charleroi needs the mentality to brake through the unemployment circle. And an extra air tax is not the right way to promote Charleroi airport.

[Acid-drop]

The tax is for sure not good for the economy of this region. Nor for other regions with an airport.
The unemployment in charleroi is by far the highest, but at least they will less suffer from the crisis. Their economy is closer to the real economy than the service companies of flanders for example (take the last 10 news of jobs cut in the belgium for the last 2 weeks, all in flanders). I'd be scared for others city/regions airports too.

[Atlantis]

And today the Irish government announced that from March 30th 2009 it will impose an extra tax of 10 euros on
plane tickets.

Flying between Belgium and Ireland is about to get very expensive

http://www.rte.ie/money/budget2009/stor ... ettax.html

And it will be more expensive. Also Ireland will get its own tax (the same tax as Belgium).

[LX-LGX]

And here's the comment that impresses me most: "Collective Madness", says IATA's big boss Bisignani.

http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/2008-10-15-01.htm

Collective Madness: Travellers to Help Bail Out Bankers with New Departure Taxes

15 October 2008

Geneva - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) criticised budget plans in Belgium and Ireland that mimic British and Dutch departure taxes as “collective madness”.

“Collective madness is the only way to describe the EUR 150 million Irish and EUR 132 million Belgian departure tax proposals. Filling budget gaps or financing government investment in the banking industry with gratuitous travel taxes is policy myopia at its worst,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

On Tuesday, the Belgian and Irish governments announced plans to implement departure taxes in their new budgets. Combined with the proposed UK Aviation Duty and the recently implemented Dutch departure tax, by 2010 air travellers could face a tax burden of up to EUR 3.8 billion annually in these four counties alone.

“The timing could not be worse for governments to make mobility more expensive. Look at what has happened in fuel, the biggest cost item for airlines. Even with the recent drop, today’s price is still over 300% more expensive than it was only a few years ago,” said Bisignani.

“Rather than collective action to squeeze taxpayers, Europe’s governments should be looking to improve European competitiveness. An effective Single European Sky would save 16 million tonnes of CO2 annually and improve the competitiveness of Europe’s skies by over EUR 5 billion,” said Bisignani.

Notes (from IATA):

The Irish government announced plans to raise EUR 150 million annually with a tax to be applied to all passengers departing Irish airports commencing 30 March 2009.

The Belgian Finance Ministry confirmed plans to raise EUR 132 million annually with a similar tax, the details of which are yet to be decided.

Effective 1 July 2008, the Dutch Government began levying between EUR 11.25 and EUR 45.00 on passengers departing Dutch airports to raise an estimated EUR 312 million annually.

The UK Government doubled its Air Passenger Duty in 2007 to collect GBP 2 billion (EUR 2.5 billion) annually. From November 2009, the UK Government is proposing to replace this with an Aviation Duty that will collect GBP 2.5 billion (EUR 3.2 billion) annually rising to GBP 3.5 billion (EUR 4.4 billion) by 2011/2012.

[b720]

The belgian government, yet again, demonstrates it's living on another planet..
Instead of finding ways to encouraga travel.. and to encourage people to go on with their daily lives.. the government choses now to impose taxes on aviation.. as if one does not pay enough "taxes" charges and surcharges on airline tickets. They are also taxing those using their cars by not reducing the price of fule at the stations after the prices have tumbled on the global markets. They -the government- are trying to increase taxes without actually saying so, when the belgian consumer's purchase power is tumbling. They should simply cut spending instead of finding ridiculius and unfair ways to balance the budget. Indeed the walooln government has a point when it says that this new tax will affect chareloi more than Bru as most of if not all traffic at charloi is lowcost...killing off one of the most succesful businesses in the waloon region would not be the right thing to do.

[LX-LGX]

Indeed the walloon government has a point when it says that this new tax will affect Charleroi more than Bru as most of if not all traffic at Charleroi is lowcost...killing off one of the most succesful businesses in the waloon region would not be the right thing to do.

Contrary to what you say, BRU will also be affected severely: BRU has some low cost carriers, and many "normal" carriers are offering cheap fares from/to BRU, because of competition from cheap State-supported railway fares. As soon as the tax is introduced, BRU won't have tickets at 49 euro's anymore.

This aviation tax will be for passengers fligts only, and not for cargo. LGG is mainly a cargo airport and will therefore not be affected too much. Do I think that the Walloon politicians, in charge of LGG, are behind this exclusion? Not at all: the governement just wanted money, plenty of money.

This tax will hurt everybody involved in passenger aviation, not only the walloon aviation business.

Also: please note that this governement has a political majority in Wallonia and a political minority in Flanders. Trust you understand forum rules forbit to go into details about this.