India on IATA’s ‘Wall of Shame’ for high air ticket tax
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India was put on the ‘Wall of Shame’ by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for imposing high service tax on air tickets when aviation sector was growing at a high pace.A PTI report said the world airlines’ body called on Indian not to kill the “goose that lays golden eggs”.The European Union Parliament and the governments of the UK, Germany and Austria, were also put on the ‘Wall of Shame’ for imposing high taxes on air travel.Stressing that aviation fuelled global trade, stimulated economies and restored government budgets, IATA’s Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said “don’t kill the goose that lays golden eggs… Tax the bankers who created the mess. Their billions of dollars in bonuses should help clean it up.”Asking the UK, German, Austrian and Indian governments to “stop compromising economic growth with aviation taxes,” he said these governments “need a textbook on aviation’s role as an economic catalyst. The first chapter is entitled ‘Basta (enough) to More Taxation’.””Taxing aviation does not pay. The Dutch government repealed a US$412 million departure tax because it cost the Dutch economy US$1.6 billion. Similarly, the Irish government is planning to cancel its US$165 million travel tax because it has cost the economy US$494 million and 3,000 jobs,” Bisignani said at the IATA’s 67th Annual General Meeting in Singapore.While the UK has imposed “the highest aviation tax in the world” of US$4.5 billion, Germany imposed a US$1.3 billion departure tax followed by Austria’s US$119 million tax and “India for the US$450 million impact on aviation of its service tax in complete contravention of ICAO rules,” Bisignani was quoted saying.This is the second time that India has been put on this wall – the earlier occasion being in June 2009 for steep hike in charges imposed on airlines by private-led Delhi and Mumbai airport developers.
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