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- Eric Kuypers: What's difficult about it? A tourist comes for a holiday and in most countries it is only short, max 30 days. People from the west
- Rob: Hello Frans, From May 10 you can pre-order it from the publisher. My email address is [email protected]
- Rob: The publisher is still working on the design and I don't know the sales price yet. It will be available for purchase from May 24. I will return in October
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- French: PS Rob, your email address is not in your article so I cannot email you my order. I don't see it on the book scout website
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Home » Flight tickets » 'Belgium introduces flight tax for short and long flights'
'Belgium introduces flight tax for short and long flights'
(Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.com)
Belgium is going to introduce a flight tax and not only for short flights (up to 500 kilometers), which was previously the plan, but also for long-haul flights such as to Thailand, several Belgian media report.
The flight tax may be introduced as early as April and will amount to 10 euros per passenger for flights of less than 500 kilometers. With more than 500 kilometers, the surcharge will be 2 euros for destinations within the European Economic Area (all EU countries plus Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland) and 4 euros for destinations outside it, such as Thailand.
Flight tax in the Netherlands
A flight tax is already levied in the Netherlands, of almost 8 euros per passenger, regardless of the length of the flight. The new Rutte IV cabinet wants to increase that tax considerably, possibly to € 24 per person, but what the exact rate will be in the Netherlands is not yet known.
I have no problem with that now, on the contrary. If you see that nowadays people take an airplane for a journey of a few hundred kilometers, this should be discouraged on all sides.
In the past, a plane trip was only reserved for the rich of the world. Nowadays, flying has become dirt cheap. A small tax certainly won't hurt.
But then it would be fair to tax a flight according to means, so let those with a lot of money pay 10 times as much. Otherwise, someone with a small purse will no longer be able to go to Thailand and the fat necks will.
And so you can go on for a while, traffic fines for example. …
Besides, the tourists with a small budget are already no longer welcome in Thailand if it depends on the government.
Traffic fines in Finland are levied according to income. So that's not entirely new.
“A man in Finland named Anssi Vanjoki's received a speeding ticket for driving 46.5 mph in a 30 mph zone and he had to pay… €116,000 ($103,000)! The reason the penalty was so harsh is that traffic fines in Finland are based not just on the severity of the offense, but on the offender's income.”
Agree that this will be introduced for business class (take up at least twice as much space) and for really short-distance flights (usually businessmen or others who do not pay those costs themselves).
Color
So: fine such a tax as long as it only applies to others?
And why should only people who fly business have to pay this tax? I always fly business and pay a lot more for it than in economy because I choose to travel comfortably and not have to travel crammed for 11 hours. If the tax is levied, it is only fair to make it apply to everyone. And let's be honest, such an amount hardly makes a difference on your holiday budget.
Because of 2 tax principles:
First, the general principle of solidarity that the strongest shoulders bear the heaviest burdens. Compare that with, for example, traffic tax.
Secondly, because the so-called health care concerns an environmental tax, whereby the principle applies that the polluter is proportionally taxed on the basis of his share in the intended pollution (here nitrogen). A passenger in business class naturally occupies a larger volume of metric carrying capacity, and so its proportional share of the nitrogen emissions produced by the flight is higher.
Of course you can argue about this. But then you arrive at the clincher: ah, the plane flew anyway, so whether or not I flew along makes no difference to the nitrogen emissions.
Color
Where do you get the idea that this is about an environmental tax? Please cite a source to substantiate this
Roger, that is stated in the coalition agreement prior to the formation of the current government in October 2021.
In such a coalition agreement (coalition agreement would be more correct) all participating political groups register their minimum policy initiatives to be realized during the intended term of office.
When the current so-called Vivalicoalition was formed, Groen (Dutch speakers) and Ecolo (French speakers) acted as a de facto unitary cartel party, registering, among other things, that the government would take measures to limit nitrogen emissions.
This includes very specifically, among other things, the imposition of a flight tax (the text of the protocol literally mentions “embarkation tax”) for discouraging air traffic over short distances (because there are plenty of less polluting alternatives such as (high-speed) trains available.
Because this is the last year in which these kinds of politically sensitive issues can still be effectively dealt with (there will be new elections in 2024 and these kinds of controversial decisions will be avoided during the last year preceding that), the government is urgently required to take an effective decision on this.
The liberal groups consider it discriminatory and arbitrary that only passengers on short flights are targeted. Their proposal to extend the charge to all air travel is obviously not challenged by Groen/Ecolo.
And of course this is another entry-level tax, which once implemented and “generally accepted” will be increased considerably in the coming years.
And of course the proceeds do not necessarily go to carbon mitigation/remediation investments.
But I need at least half a day to explain to you according to which principles governments (are allowed to) manage their budgets.
Color
Dear Cor,
Isn't it clincher arguments what you claim? I get the impression that you don't want to spend it yourself, but to then add nitrogen emissions is a nonsense to let them know I don't. You also fly and it is not only usually business people who use it, I can imagine that there are people who are happy to pay a little more so that they do not have to sit in a cramped seat for 11 hours in KLM tourist class with a higher chance of screaming children.
Greetings
That flight tax is one pure tax, only to fill the Belgian treasury, not a cent goes to research into more environmentally friendly flight initiatives, such as the use of Sustainable Air Fuel, or to encourage Airlines to use less COXNUMX-emitting aircraft (new generations of Airbus and Boeing)
I don't really have a big problem with the introduction of a flight tax, although I certainly have questions.
I have a bit more difficulty with the statement that business or first class should not have to pay more because those seats take up significantly more space – which means fewer passengers on the same surface.
Calculating the tax on the volumes taken seems much fairer to me.
Those who can afford to fly in that luxury can also pay more costs is a logic in itself.
Everyone has their own opinion, of course, but it's worth discussing.
Dear Guy,
Everyone's opinion is pretty good!
So what your suggestion of more expensive class is fair? Are you implying that figures such as Timmermans in particular in the European Parliament, who promote the environment, can fly comfortably at our expense and can fly with a long finger to the taxpayer?
It just depends on how you look at it, the cattle should not be transported too close together, then the nitrogen will also become less important, right?
It's just how you want to look at it.
No tax is (yet) paid on jet fuel. It would hurt my wallet, because I fly regularly, but it is of course difficult to explain that the polluting aviation industry will be less taxed.
More and more voices are being raised to tax kerosene…
Isn't it a bit strange to find that if you are a bit more relaxed, you can also pay a bit more flight tax, while on the other hand many people stand on end if a higher entrance fee is asked somewhere in Thailand because you are supposed to be will that be the best way to pay?
What will happen to that money?
Will it disappear into the heap, or has the Belgian government made environmental plans that are financially covered by this?
It does not disappear in the big heap, but in the deep pit.
If one wants to tax pollution, it would be better to tax per person: many children means paying a lot of taxes. For many of us, the move to Thailand and/or back is necessary to be with the partner.
The number of flights with private jets seems to have increased dramatically.
Maybe some extra tax could be levied on that: 1 million euros per flight?
It seems that the jet set is also responsible for an important part of the Co2 emissions….
https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/rising-use-of-private-jets-sends-co2-emissions-soaring/
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/12/1/16718844/green-consumers-climate-change
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211025-climate-how-to-make-the-rich-pay-for-their-carbon-emissions