Airlines urge ticket-tax cut
| Washington
The nation's airlines are urging Congress to take action that would save air travelers more than $1.5 billion annually by cutting the tax on domestic tickets from 8 percent to 2 percent.
In 1979, the 317 million passengers carried by US airlines paid an average of
Citing a surplus of $3.7 billion in the airport-airways trust fund, the Air Transport Association maintains that lower taxes and the current surplus will provide more than enough money to meet needs of the nation's airport and airways system.
The association notes that the trust fund has a surplus of $3.7 billion and is expected to reach $4 billion by the end of the fiscal year.
The airlines are urging Congress not only to reduce the domestic tax, but also to cut the 5 percent tax on domestic airfreight way bills to 3 percent and the $3 international departure tax to $2.
