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Business Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
German government looks to roll back tax hike on flights
[FRANKFURT] Germany's government signalled on Monday that it may reverse a rise in the tax applied to passenger flights as it steers a pro-business turn in Europe's top economy. Airlines have long complained that the charges in Germany - aimed in part to reduce carbon emissions - are among the highest in Europe, harming competitiveness. 'The increase in the air travel tax must be reversed,' said Christoph Ploss, the federal government's tourism coordinator, in an interview with the Bild daily. 'Hard-earned holidays to Mallorca must not become unaffordable,' he added, refencing the Spanish island which is a popular holiday destination. Germany last hiked the duty in May 2024, with the levy for short-haul flights hitting 15.33 euros (S$22.90), up from 12.73 euros, and that for long-haul routes soaring to 70.83 euros from 58.06 euros. For comparison, France is planning to increase its tax on economy-class flights to destinations within Europe to 7.30 euros, up from 2.63 euros now. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Last year's increase under Germany's then-chancellor Olaf Scholz has brought in almost two billion euros since it was imposed but also led to anger from airlines. Irish budget carrier Ryanair and German rival Eurowings warned late last year that they were considering cutting numerous routes to and from Germany, citing what they called excessive taxation. Reversing the tax rise as part of the 2026 budget is now being discussed between Germany's ruling coalition parties, the conservative CDU/CDU and the centre-left SPD, Bild reported. Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the CDU has tried to forge a pro-business course to revive a sluggish economy, introducing tax breaks for business investment and promising to reduce bureaucracy. AFP
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
German govt looks to roll back tax hike on flights
Germany's government signalled Monday that it may reverse a rise in the tax applied to passenger flights as it steers a pro-business turn in Europe's top economy. Airlines have long complained that the charges in Germany -- aimed in part to reduce carbon emissions -- are among the highest in Europe, harming competitiveness. "The increase in the air travel tax must be reversed," said Christoph Ploss, the federal government's tourism coordinator, in an interview with the Bild daily. "Hard-earned holidays to Mallorca must not become unaffordable," he added, refencing the Spanish island which is a popular holiday destination. Germany last hiked the duty in May 2024, with the levy for short-haul flights hitting 15.33 euros ($17.88), up from 12.73 euros, and that for long-haul routes soaring to 70.83 euros from 58.06 euros. For comparison, France is planning to increase its tax on economy-class flights to destinations within Europe to 7.30 euros, up from 2.63 euros now. Last year's increase under Germany's then-chancellor Olaf Scholz has brought in almost two billion euros since it was imposed but also led to anger from airlines. Irish budget carrier Ryanair and German rival Eurowings warned late last year that they were considering cutting numerous routes to and from Germany, citing what they called excessive taxation. Reversing the tax rise as part of the 2026 budget is now being discussed between Germany's ruling coalition parties, the conservative CDU/CDU and the centre-left SPD, Bild reported. Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the CDU has tried to forge a pro-business course to revive a sluggish economy, introducing tax breaks for business investment and promising to reduce bureaucracy. lep-vbw/fz/rmb Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
France 24
4 days ago
- Business
- France 24
German govt looks to roll back tax hike on flights
Airlines have long complained that the charges in Germany -- aimed in part to reduce carbon emissions -- are among the highest in Europe, harming competitiveness. "The increase in the air travel tax must be reversed," said Christoph Ploss, the federal government's tourism coordinator, in an interview with the Bild daily. "Hard-earned holidays to Mallorca must not become unaffordable," he added, refencing the Spanish island which is a popular holiday destination. Germany last hiked the duty in May 2024, with the levy for short-haul flights hitting 15.33 euros ($17.88), up from 12.73 euros, and that for long-haul routes soaring to 70.83 euros from 58.06 euros. For comparison, France is planning to increase its tax on economy-class flights to destinations within Europe to 7.30 euros, up from 2.63 euros now. Last year's increase under Germany's then-chancellor Olaf Scholz has brought in almost two billion euros since it was imposed but also led to anger from airlines. Irish budget carrier Ryanair and German rival Eurowings warned late last year that they were considering cutting numerous routes to and from Germany, citing what they called excessive taxation. Reversing the tax rise as part of the 2026 budget is now being discussed between Germany's ruling coalition parties, the conservative CDU/CDU and the centre-left SPD, Bild reported. Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the CDU has tried to forge a pro-business course to revive a sluggish economy, introducing tax breaks for business investment and promising to reduce bureaucracy.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Germany Air Traffic Tax: Germany intends to reverse increase in air traffic tax, Bild reports, ETTravelWorld
Advt Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals. Subscribe to Newsletter to get latest insights & analysis in your inbox. All about ETTravelWorld industry right on your smartphone! Download the ETTravelWorld App and get the Realtime updates and Save your favourite articles. Germany intends to reverse an increase in air traffic tax unpopular with airlines, something which will be discussed by the coalition government as part of budget considerations for 2026, the Bild newspaper reported on airlines have long complained that flying to and from German airports is too expensive and threatened to reduce their presence in the country, with budget carrier Ryanair among the loudest critics."The increase in air traffic tax must be cancelled, and charges at German airports must also be reduced," the newspaper quoted Christoph Ploss, the government's tourism policy coordinator , as transport ministry will push for a reversal of the tax increase, according to the report. Shares in Lufthansa spiked briefly after the news by 2.2 per cent . The coalition government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz has vowed to ease the financial burden on aviation, including by reversing the higher air traffic tax, but had not given a timeline in its coalition Finance Minster Lars Klingbeil is expected to present the draft 2026 budget next week, with companies watching closely for promised relief despite pressure on state coffers from ramped-up spending on defence and economic uncertainty. The air traffic tax increase came into effect in May 2024, raising the surcharge for short-haul flights from 12.48 euros per ticket to 15.53 said the previous government, led by the Social Democrats who are now junior partners in the current coalition, had made holidays more expensive for millions of Germans."A well-deserved holiday in Mallorca must not become unaffordable," he added.A reversal "would be a first and urgent step in the right direction," Ralph Beisel, head of the ADV airports association, said in a statement to Reuters. "A reorientation of aviation policy is needed in our country."
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Germany intends to reverse increase in air traffic tax, Bild reports
BERLIN, July 21 (Reuters) - Germany intends to reverse an increase in air traffic tax in 2026, something which will be discussed by the new coalition government as part of budget considerations for that year, the Bild newspaper reported on Monday. "The increase in air traffic tax must be cancelled, and charges at German airports must also be reduced. Otherwise there will soon be even fewer flight connections at German airports than is currently the case," the paper quoted Christoph Ploss, the government's tourism policy coordinator, as saying.
