French minister raises airline ticket tax proposal

Airline Industry Information, June 28, 2005

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

The proposal for a special tax on airline tickets to help combat extreme poverty has been put forward again.

The French economy and finance minister presented the idea for a "solidarity levy" at a recent United Nations ministerial meeting, and said that it was backed by Brazil, Chile and Germany as well as France.

Outlining details of the proposed scheme, the minister said that the tax could be set at different levels for economy and business travel and depending on the length of the flight. The proceeds could be channelled through existing institutions and used to finance urgent programmes, for example vaccination campaigns or AIDS treatment.

The suggested airline ticket levy will reportedly also be raised at the G8 meeting in Scotland next month.

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