ITS EDUCATION ASIA ARTICLE

Calling time on the fatcats?

By Danny Harrington, MD ITS Education Asia

Edward J Markey, a US senator from Massachusetts, along with Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, has proposed additional taxes on the wealthy users of private aircraft. Their amusingly named Fueling Alternative Transportation with a Carbon Aviation Tax (Fatcat) Act, proposes increasing fuel taxes for private jet travel from the current US$0.22/gallon to US$2 per gallon. Additionally, the Fatcat Act would remove current exemptions for harmful activities such as flights used to explore for gas and oil.

It is outrageous that private jet fuel tax is considerably lower than that on commercial flights and yet they get to use the same infrastructure and more importantly pollute as much as 14 times more than commercial flights and 50 times more than trains. The flights of the wealthy 1% thus contribute twice as much carbon emission pollution as the poorest 50% but it is the poorest who suffer the impact so much more. In addition, the extra cost will not even dent the pockets of those paying.

Hopefully this proposal gets to be more than just amusingly named.