[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 24684]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      OH NO! ANOTHER TAX INCREASE

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, as air travel increases, revenue to airports, 
of course, increases as well. Much of that money is from hidden taxes 
passengers pay. But now this increased revenue isn't enough for some. 
They want to tax flyers even more to fly.
  Right now, if a citizen buys a typical round trip ticket, the fare is 
about $230. But additional taxes raise the fare another $45. So the 
passenger is now really paying $275.
  Airports now want to collect more Federal taxes from each passenger 
by increasing the passenger facility charge, another word for tax, to 
$7 per passenger per segment. What that means is a family of four that 
flies from Odessa, Texas, to Washington, D.C., with a stopover in 
Dallas, is going to pay another $112 in more taxes.
  Airports already get plenty of money. They sell bonds; they get 
millions in Federal, City and State taxes; they charge airlines for 
gates and the right to land; they get taxes off rental cars; and they 
lease airport space to businesses.
  Airports should make do with the abundance of revenue they already 
get from the taxpayers. Don't raise taxes any more on passengers.
  And that's just the way it is.

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