Australian air tax

Speaking in Sydney, David Scowsill, President & CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council, called on whichever party wins the election on 7 September to reconsider the amount which it takes from air travellers in the form of the Passenger Movement Charge (PMC).

“Australia’s PMC is among the most regressive in the world of travel and tourism”, Scowsill said.  “It bears no relation to distance covered, so cannot be considered environmentally legitimate.  Neither is the revenue income put back into aviation infrastructure, so it cannot be considered as contributing to the growth of the industry in any way.  Instead, it is a general tax that simply discourages travel and tourism from Australia”.

Australia’s passenger movement charge (PMC) was introduced in 1995 and, like Air Passenger Duty (APD) in the United Kingdom, has regularly risen to stand currently at A$55 for every international passenger.  In Europe, Holland withdrew the tax when it became apparent the damage it was doing.

Scowsill explained the problem with the PMC, and drew a parallel with the United Kingdom: “Australia is an island trading nation which relies upon air links for its economic prosperity.  Taxing air travel naturally switches off demand from both business and leisure travellers alike.  Air taxes, such as the PMC, are economically destructive and totally counter-productive.” www.wttc.org

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