Barnier wants to almost triple the solidarity tax on airline tickets

2024-10-03 19:00:00

The main mission of the Barnier government is the consolidation of France’s budget, which includes, among other things, increasing taxation on air transport by increasing the solidarity tax on airline tickets, as part of the budget law for 2025. The objective? Generate a billion euros by focusing above all on long-haul flights. An idea criticized by Air France.

Initially created in 2006, the “Chirac tax” was intended to finance the fight against AIDS in Africa. It has since undergone several increases and changes, most notably in 2019, when the Borne government introduced an eco-contribution to modernize the rail network. The TSBA currently generates around €460 million per year, but the planned reform could almost triple this amount, with significant increases for long-haul flights.

As reported The EchoesUnder the new proposals, the TSBA for a business class flight over 5,000 km could reach 200 euros (compared to the current 63 euros), while for an economy class flight it would increase from 7.51 euros to 60 euros for similar distances. Even intra-European flights and flights to overseas territories, although partially saved at the beginning of the reflection, could suffer a tax increase, in particular to hit low-cost airlines.

Air France, the TSBA’s largest taxpayer, expressed serious concerns after learning of this. The French group particularly highlighted the fact that this change will join other cost increases, particularly those related to corporate taxes and civil aviation taxes. In 2023, the taxes paid by Air France-KLM amount to three billion euros, and the company assures that if the increases continue they will necessarily be felt on the price of tickets: “The project under study, which represents a non-progressive solution doubling the revenues of the TSBA, is unprecedented. Its financial burden could not be borne by the airlines alone and would necessarily lead to an increase in the price of airline tickets.

Furthermore, industry operators fear that this new tax system will worsen the competitiveness deficit of French air transport, which has already lost one point of market share per year over the last twenty years. By increasing taxes on air travel in this way, the government risks diverting passengers to other European hubs, thus exacerbating the loss of traffic and reducing France’s attractiveness as a tourist destination. In contrast, Spain and Italy choose to reduce taxes to stimulate tourism.