The federal government plans to raise the passenger flight tax due to the household crisis. The spokesman for the federal government announced the adjustment of the air traffic tax on Tuesday with regard to the agreement on the federal budget for 2024.
This rules out the possible introduction of a national kerosene tax. Kerosene used in commercial aviation is exempt from energy tax. A document from the Ministry of Economics had stated, “Among other things, we will tax kerosene in domestic air traffic in the future.”
“Additional revenues of up to 580 million euros annually”
The Federal Association of German Air Transport criticized the possible introduction of a national kerosene tax. The state location costs in Germany are already the highest in European comparison. With the national solo action of a domestic kerosene tax, feeder traffic to German hub airports would become more expensive, shifting traffic to European and international destinations.
As announced by the government spokesperson, the air traffic tax will be adjusted annually to generate additional revenues in line with the privileges in energy taxation of kerosene in domestic air traffic. “This would lead to additional revenues of up to 580 million euros annually from 2024 onward.”
The ticket tax, introduced in 2011 by the then black-yellow federal government for budget consolidation, has so far generated revenues of around one billion euros per year. The surcharges, staggered according to the flight distance, must be paid by the airlines.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Minister of Economic Affairs Robert Habeck (Greens), and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) agreed last Wednesday on how to fill the billion-euro holes in the federal budget for 2024 as well as in the climate and transformation funds, following a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court.
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