Taxation

The airline industry today faces thousands of taxes and fees on its operations and services, including taxes on income, property, fuel, equipment and taxes for social and economic purposes such as development aid, the environment and tourism expansion. In many cases, the revenue raised from such taxes is far outweighed by the economic benefits that are forgone as a result.  

IATA's role

Proactively fight the imposition of new taxes on the airline industry worldwide and to eliminate or reduce existing unfair and burdensome taxation.

IATA campaigns actively against revenue authorities worldwide that fail to honor the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) taxation principles by:

Leading initiatives to rescind unfair tax policies and legislation Developing strategies and action plans to protect the interests of IATA Member airlines Targeting specific taxation issues in collaboration with regional working groups and opposing specific taxation measures through special interest groups Focusing attention, both within the industry and among governments, on the real impact of taxation on air transport and tourism and as a result, on the global economy

Fast Facts

• According to a survey carried out by Airlines for America (formerly the Air Transport Association), taxes levied on aviation exceeded US$14 billion in 2004 in the USA, corresponding to 25% of a typical airfare.
• The equivalent figure for the European Union comes to an annual total of US$7.3 billion, equal to an estimated 14-15% of passenger revenues for airlines on all routes within Europe.
• The aviation industry is highly taxed in comparison to other transport modes. Airline passengers contribute between EUR4.6 and EUR8.4 for each air journey from/to France, Germany and the UK. By contrast, road users contribute less than EUR0.5 for each journey while rail and light rail users are heavily subsidized. 

Position Papers

• Tourism tax (pdf)
• Value Added Tax (pdf)
• Solidarity tax (pdf)

Supporting Economic Analysis

Briefings and outside views on taxation