Airlines aim to ground doubling of security tax

Airlines and business travelers are bristling over a Bush administration proposal to double the airport security tax created by Congress after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

When he submits his budget to Congress today, President Bush is expected to outline a plan to increase the security fee from $2.50 to $5.50 for a one-way airline ticket, and from a maximum of $5 to $8 for a trip that has multiple legs. The increase would generate an additional $1.5 billion for the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration.

Homeland Security said it would not comment until the budget is released.

Airlines plan to fight a security tax increase.

Air travel is heavily taxed, with passengers and airlines paying billions of dollars to fund Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), said John Heimlich, chief economist for the Air Transport Association, which represents U.S. cargo and passenger carriers.

“It’s easy once these taxes are on the books to increase them. It’s easier to raise them than it is to engage in fiscal self-discipline,” he said.

Airlines and passengers pay 13 major taxes and fees, the Government Accountability Office said in a report completed last year.

“The taxes were added over many years as Congress and administrations have looked at aviation as a cash cow,” said Mike Miller, a partner at the Velocity Group, an aviation consulting firm in Washington.

More than 600 million passengers flew on U.S. airlines last year, and consumer interest in flying shows no sign of slowing down, especially in light of fare wars that continue to lower the cost of air travel.

Passengers are responsible for the airport security tax and three others that are assessed on tickets for domestic flights.

The federal ticket tax amounts to 7.5 percent of the cost of a ticket. Another tax of $3.20 is added for each leg of a flight. Both taxes help fund the FAA.

Passengers also pay a facility charge of $4.50 to each airport in which they set foot, up to a maximum of $18.

International passengers pay additional taxes, including arrival and departure taxes that add up to $28.20 and a $5 fee to fund inspections by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

A $200 round-trip, domestic flight with one stop each way can include taxes of nearly $52, accounting for 26 percent of the cost of the ticket, Mr. Heimlich said.

Airlines pay taxes on fuel and cargo, and a $70 fee to fund inspections of agricultural products on international flights.

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