[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1550 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1550
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include fees paid by
airline passengers for goods and services offered during the course of
a flight as amounts paid for taxable transportation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 11, 2023
Mr. Schatz introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include fees paid by
airline passengers for goods and services offered during the course of
a flight as amounts paid for taxable transportation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Lower Fees, Better Airports Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. FEES PAID BY AIRLINE PASSENGERS FOR GOODS AND SERVICES OFFERED
DURING FLIGHT.
(a) In General.--Section 4261(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(6) Fees paid for goods and services.--
``(A) In general.--Any amount paid to an air
carrier (or any related person) for any applicable
product in connection with taxable transportation shall
be treated for purposes of subsection (a) as an amount
paid for taxable transportation, and such amount shall
be taxable under subsection (a) without regard to any
other provision of this subchapter.
``(B) Applicable product in connection with taxable
transportation.--For purposes of this paragraph, the
term `applicable product in connection with taxable
transportation' means any good or service which is
related to taxable transportation and which is offered
prior to or during such taxable transportation,
including--
``(i) any service related to ticketing,
booking, or the purchase of such taxable
transportation (including payment processing
and the change or cancellation or any ticket or
reservation), regardless of whether such
service is offered or provided electronically,
by telephone, or in person,
``(ii) the direct purchase of frequent
flyer miles or qualifying points toward airline
status from a frequent flyer or similar
program, including any subscriptions related to
such purchase,
``(iii) the ability to redeem frequent
flyer miles or points for transportation of
persons by air or to accelerate the
accumulation of frequent flyer miles or points,
``(iv) any service relating to seating or
boarding, including seat assignments, upgrades
to a higher level seating product, priority
boarding, or early check-in,
``(v) the transportation (whether checked
or carry-on) of any baggage, animal, or other
property of the passenger,
``(vi) any in-flight food or beverage,
``(vii) any in-flight entertainment or
wireless internet service,
``(viii) any accommodation or assistance
provided for an unaccompanied minor passenger,
``(ix) membership in an airline club or
similar program that entitles the passenger
to--
``(I) free or discounted
transportation by air, or
``(II) goods or services described
in any other clause of this
subparagraph, and
``(x) any other good or service identified
by the Secretary for purposes of this
paragraph.
``(C) Regulations.--Not later than 24 months after
the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary
shall issue such regulations or other guidance as the
Secretary determines necessary to carry out the
purposes of this paragraph.''.
(b) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
amendment made by this section shall apply to amounts paid
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) Special rule for applicable products identified by the
secretary.--In the case of any good or service identified by
the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary's delegate)
pursuant to section 4161(e)(6)(B)(x) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 (as added by subsection (a)), the amendment made
by this section shall apply to amounts paid after the earlier
of--
(A) the date determined by the Secretary of the
Treasury (or the Secretary's delegate), or
(B) the date that is 12 months after the date on
which the Secretary of the Treasury (or the Secretary's
delegate) identified such good or service pursuant to
such section.
<all>