As your constituent, I am urging you to become an original co-sponsor to forthcoming legislation from Rep. Steve Cohen that would seek to tax private jet usage.
When flying commercial, we all pay a 7.5% tax on the price of the ticket, plus a passenger facility charge of up to $4.50. But private jet fliers? They only pay a fuel surcharge tax of just $0.22 per gallon of jet fuel -- and thanks to the Trump Tax Cuts in 2017 -- businesses can deduct 100% of the cost of a private plane from their tax bills. They do all this while being serviced by municipal airports and runways that are funded with public dollars.
Private jets are also responsible for roughly half of all aviation carbon emissions.
A global transfer tax on all private jets and a private jet fuel tax would force ultra-wealthy polluters to unburden taxpayers from subsidizing their plane costs. For example, in 2022, Musk bought a $78 million private jet, took 171 flights, contributed to the consumption of 837,934 liters of jet fuel, and was responsible for 2,112 tons of carbon emissions. A 10% sales tax on the purchase of pre-owned aircraft, plus a 5% sales tax on new aircraft transactions, would have resulted in billionaire Elon Musk owing a $3.9 million tax bill in 2022.
If the ultra-wealthy want to fly in their private jets, they should pay their part, and Rep. Cohen’s legislation would make them do just that.
First sent on May 10, 2023 by Jess Craven
