Here we go again: new aviation tax ?

[LX-LGX]

Around noon today, the federal government of Belgium will present it's Budget 2009.

De Standaard reveals that the government expects 132 mio euro from a new aviation tax.

Compared to the 350 mio euro that the governement of the Netherlands expects from it's "vliegtaks", and keeping in mind that the Netherlands have 50% more inhabitants then Belgium (16,3 mio in .nl versus 10,5 in .be) and that Dutch aviation has more then the double of passengers then Belgian aviation (thanks to KLM), we may expect at least a similar Belgian tax. The Dutch tax (applicable as from 01/07/2008) is 11,25 euro on outgoing European flights and 45 euro on the other outgoing flights.

I haven't enclosed a link yet, as the Budget will only be official later today.

[regi]

question for me now is :

• how and
  when

it will be implemented.
I have bought ( booked + paid ) already my tickets for 2009. Will I have to pay extra tax during check inn?
If the tax will be applied only on new purchases from a certain date onwards, it will give a well needed boost at the travel shops which see a 10% drop lately.

If we Belgians apply this tax as the Dutch have done , we will loose the Dutch customers who came to Zaventem and Düsseldorf to escape the higher prices.

[regi]

OK, I just read the article in a french newspaper as well, see other topic about Charleroi.
The tax would be something like 10 euro per short flight and 40 euro for a long flight.
But how will the government put this tax on the purchase? During purchase? Depending on connections as well ?
Luxemburg is not applying this tax. So for some people it will be more interesting to buy their ticket on line in Luxemburg, and fly from e.g. Zaventem ?
Many questions remain.
But the leaders always forget that the people try to escape extra taxes, see the influx of Dutch travellers.

[regi]

Small hint to our dear Belgian leaders where to find the money:
I saw that finance minister Reynders and PM Leterme came back from the Paris meeting with 2 seperate (large) cars.
The guys are in the same government, they could have shared transport.
This is not a joke, it is serious. It would have given a signal to the population.

[Acid-drop]

I heard they are going to paris by plane.
This must be a joke too.

[sn26567]

I heard they are going to paris by plane.
This must be a joke too.

They have been to Paris by plane, sharing the same plane, incidentally; an Embraer 145 of the Belgian Defence.

[B737229]

won't take long to get a reaction from our Irish friends at Charleroi

[Megaman]

10 EUR per flight isn't that excessive for short haul is it? If fuel prices drop, the consumers might not even feel the difference.

[HighInTheSky]

If that tax will replace the fuel surcharge, and pax will notice nothing or maybe 1 euro more ok. But already they are switching to other airports or carriers if they can make 5 euro profit / ticket... I don't know what the effect will be, but i do know that he Belgian carriers won't be happy with this.

[b720]

taxes on short flight are already high.. adding charges they exceed the price of the ticket.. the question is if
a cheap fare is purchased, a fare where neither changes nor refunds are permitted... if one does not use the ticket one must surely be entitled to a refund of the taxes. anyone here tried getting taxes refunded from a 'cheap' b lite ticket? or from easyjet?

[Bottie]

This is probably one of the things Leterme said we won't feel if new incomes were needed ...

[Darjeeling]

10 EUR per flight isn't that excessive for short haul is it? If fuel prices drop, the consumers might not even feel the difference.

No it's a communist/socialist tax. It's made to compensate the incompetence of those ministers.
I see here the hand of the P.S. This govt is communist.

[airazurxtror]

In "Le Soir" today p.2 :
That tax should bring 130 to 140 millions euros every year from 2009.
Tax amount will vary according to :
- lenght of the flight (intercontinental flights taxed higher than European ones)
- class (business tax higher than economy)

[LX-LGX]

10 EUR per flight isn't that excessive for short haul is it? If fuel prices drop, the consumers might not even feel the difference.

For an average (*) Belgian family - parents and two children - this government Leterme II will steal some 300 euro's out of their pockets:

- one short holiday trip in Europe (South France / Italy / Spain / Greece) = 40 to 50 euro's for Leterme II

- one city trip in Europe (London or Eastern Europe) = 40 to 50 euro's for Leterme II

- one medium haul or long haul holiday (Egypt, Turkey, Dominican Republic, Florida, Cuba, Jamaica) = 160 to 200 euro's for Leterme II

(*) of course not every family is travelling, but if they travel, that's an average

[Acid-drop]

They steal the money to those who are rich enough to travel. Looks fair to me.
But there is a collateral dammage : the belgian airports will suffer. This kind of measure is stupid in a country where 80% of the population lives less than 1 hour away from the border, and a foreign airport.
The lost in trafic will cost them more than they win with the tax.

[saratoga]

Somehow i'm not surprised by this act, typical belgium. They always treated aviation in a patronising way.
I'm more concerned about the compulsory emission rights imposed on airline companies.

[Atlantis]

Fair or not fair, fact is that such things should be arranged via Europe and via a European law. The same tax on every airport and in that case no single airport in Europe will be punished by his own government.

[Flanders]

Any information on "when" the new rules will apply and "how much" it will cost us, is greatly appreciated. I am very angry right now. I guess this is another example of "Goed Bestuur" (good governance)? Sorry to turn this into politics. But politics is never far away when it comes to Belgian aviation...

[luchtzak]

The Belgian Air Transport Association today stated in a press release that the new aviation tax is totally unaccectable.

[airazurxtror]

They steal the money to those who are rich enough to travel. Looks fair to me.

Rich enough to travel ?
Many people - me, for instance - travel on LCC return tickets at less than 50 or 60 euros - just because they are not that rich ...