German air passenger taxes

The aviation tax (including air traffic control or ticket tax ) is a tax that is levied in Germany from January 1, 2011 at the departure of a passenger from a domestic starting point. The legal basis for this is the air traffic control law ( LuftVStG ) of 9 December 2010.

Rate of taxation

• " Short-range " (Appendix 1 to LuftVStG )
• " Medium-range " (Annex 2 to LuftVStG )
• " Long-distance " ( listed in either of the two systems)

The amount of the tax depends on the route between Germany and the destination country. In which of the three possible categories a target country falls, is regulated in Appendices 1 and 2 of the LuftVStG. The lowest duty is payable for flights to countries that are listed in Appendix 1 - these are often referred to in the press as a short-range, although, for example, flights in the eastern part of Russia fall into this category. The next highest levy is payable for flights to countries that are listed in Appendix 2 - also known as medium-range. For flights to all other countries the highest duty is payable.

It is since the beginning of 2012 per passenger

• € 7.50 for flights to countries of Annex 1 or for German domestic feeder flights to a long distance (2011: € 8.00 )
• € 23.43 for flights to countries of Annex 2 (2011: € 25.00 )
• € 42.18 for all other flights (2011: € 45.00 ).

Ryanair takes this tax already since August 2010. For flights within Germany VAT is payable on the amount, in this case fall through the aviation tax incl € 8.93 (2011: € 9.52 ) at.

Sport and leisure flyers are not affected by the aviation tax. Exempt from taxation are also passengers who have not yet completed their second year of life - if not occupying a seat - and air fares for purely sovereign, military or medical purposes. Not to be taxed flights of passengers who have their principal residence on a domestic island without land connection between this island and the domestic mainland.

Also are not taxed flight staff on duty and paths which are covered as a so-called "ground transportation" (ie by train and bus ).

History

The aviation tax was adopted in June 2010 by the Cabinet Merkel II in a special offer by the German government in 2010 to generate additional revenue for the German state. It has the IATA control marking OY (example: " is EUR 7.50 OY " indicates 7.50 € aviation tax. )

Already in the years before there had been repeated the call for the introduction of an aviation tax. First, the federal government discussed the establishment of a genuine incentive tax that should develop an ecological steering effect through noise and energy consumption. But it was already planned to include aviation in Phase II of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. The government feared that the airlines could free through the purchase of carbon credits from the tax, and made a determination based on emissions can not be implemented. Therefore, she sat from June 2010 with a measured by the number of passengers and flight path control with purely fiscal targets by. This tax is but more often referred to as " aviation tax ".

Tax revenues in 2011 amounted to 959 million euros, just below the previously expected revenue of one billion euros. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, it was by the control to a downturn in demand of up to 2 million passengers ( approximately 1.1 % of the passenger traffic ). They have primarily deposited on airports with a high proportion of low-cost and regional airports. At the same time, a reduction in CO2 emissions was made by this damping effect but have been thus reduces the external costs emanating from the German air traffic environment. From January to September 2012 671.2 million euros were collected; in the same period revenue of 563.3 million euros were achieved.

The level of aviation tax is linked to the cost of the EU emissions trading and thereby limits: The aviation expected to arise from aviation tax and emissions trading not more than one billion euro cost. Any excess of the expected expenses for both instruments a total of one billion euros, the aviation tax will be reduced accordingly. This happened for the first time with the inclusion of aviation in Phase II of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme in 2012.

Reception

The state of Rhineland - Palatinate, which cares for its regional airport Frankfurt- Hahn, a report given at the Berlin government and environmental lawyer Michael Kloepfer in order, therefore, violates the proposed tax exemption of cargo flights as unauthorized aid of European law. One consequence, again according to German Wings of example, that the company no longer fly from Zweibrücken to Berlin since 10 January 2011.

Environmental organizations such as the Traffic Club Germany see in the ticket tax a step in the right direction for more true costs of transport. The air traffic control is to bring about a billion euros a year in tax revenue. The Federal Environment Agency estimated in contrast, the tax benefits of air transport with over 11.5 billion euros (2008), mainly due to exemption from excise duty on kerosene ( kerosene tax ) and the exemption from VAT on international tickets. The VCD speaks opted for the retention and further development of air traffic control from, diminish it but environmentally damaging distortions of competition and show an ecological steering effect given the existing climate and environmental problems. German domestic flights should be increasingly shifted to the web; the first time it had come through the new tax to a decline in domestic flights.

Passenger numbers rose in 2011 by 4.8% to 199.6 million. According to a report commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Finance would be without the aviation tax from 1.4 to 2 million passengers and more from flown to Germany. The Federation of German aviation industry goes Intraplan - report estimates that five million passengers were missing in 2011 in Germany. They are, above all, dodged in neighboring countries where no tax was levied. A tax revenue of around one billion euros were faced loss of revenue of around 600 million euros. The CEO of Air Berlin, Hartmut Mehdorn, speaks of lost revenues German airlines 740 million euros, 175 million euros shortfall in airports and 230 million euros in the tourism industry. 13,500 jobs were lost.

A registered repeatedly by some non-governmental opinion of the TU Chemnitz other hand, concludes that an exodus of passengers or a decline in demand could not be established. Long-term trends to larger airports and away from low cost airlines would better explain observed changes in passenger numbers.

A study of the Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics certifies the air traffic control that they - can indeed eliminate distortions of competition on the other hand but also distort competition to the detriment of German cross and the near hub airports cause - if they internalize external costs. Competitive disadvantages for certain airlines sees them as of little relevance. The German taxpayer Institute criticized that the air traffic control could be justified either for fiscal reasons or from environmental and climate policy point of view. It would complicate the tax law and is incompatible with a just and equal tax burden distribution.

On March 19, 2013 petition for the abolition of aviation tax was filed at the German Bundestag. 50,000 signatures were required, with 92 842 signatories to the quorum was reached.

Situation in other countries

Austria

In Austria, was introduced in April 2011 with the Flight Duty Act ( FlugAbgG ) a similar system for German air traffic control. The fees for short-and medium -haul flights have been reduced in 2013 from 8 euros to 7 euros, or 20 euros to 15 euros. According to § 5 para 1 FlugAbgG the flight dissipation is a function of the distance to the destination aerodrome per passenger

• For short-haul 7 euros (according to § Appendix 1.)
• For the medium-range 15 EUR (according to § Appendices. 2)
• For the long haul 35 euros (according to § 5 para 2)

The effects of air travel levy 2012 were evaluated. The number of passengers has grown in line with forecasts since the introduction of air travel levy, for an attenuation of growth through the delivery, there is only weak signs. Negative impact on the business location Austria are unlikely slightly negative but not excluded. The evaluation classifies the tax as a non- distortionary. However, the tax is not high enough to eliminate existing distortions of competition to the detriment of road and rail. In order to develop a better ecological steering effect, the tax would need to be further developed, stronger differentiate, for example, according to distances.

Denmark

Denmark introduced in 2005, an air traffic control. While passenger numbers rose in 2005 in Denmark. Nevertheless, the halving of the tax in 2006 and its abolition in 2007, after a few months, in November 2005, decided, because many passengers dodged the Swedish airports Malmö and Gothenburg.

France

France raises since July 2006, a aviation tax (Taxe sur les billets de solidarité d' avion ). This is in economy class to destinations within the European Union 1, - € and destinations outside the European Union 4, - €. For flights to the other classes of travel, the control value was ten times. The revenue is used to finance UNITAID, an international facility for the purchase of HIV / AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis drugs.

Ireland

Launched in Ireland in March 2009, air traffic control ( Air Travel Tax) was initially 2, - € for all flights within Ireland and for those with up to 300 km distance from Dublin Airport and 10, - € for all other flights. On 1 March 2011 a uniform tax of 3, was - € introduced for all flights.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, an aviation tax was introduced in July 2008. € and for intercontinental flights from 40, - - For European flights a tax of 11 € was raised. Because passengers resorted to Dusseldorf, Weeze and Brussels, decreased the number of passengers to the Dutch airports by about 10% and economic losses for the aviation industry in an estimated amount of 1.2 to 1.3 billion euros were incurred, the tax was after one year again abolished. The extent of the decrease in the tax, the financial crisis starting in 2007 and also long -term trend towards low cost domestic and international airports are attributable, is unclear.

United Kingdom

Introduced in the UK aviation tax (Air Passenger Duty, often short APD) has been increased since its introduction in 1994 several times. In addition to removing the carriage booked class was crucial to the amount of tax:

Other

Italy and Finland charge a relatively low tax of one to four euros. In Malta, an aviation tax was abolished in 2006.