Air Transport Association targets Obama tax proposal on flights

Another aviation group criticized President Obama's proposal to decrease the federal deficit by increasing taxes on flights, saying the president is attempting to generate an additional $3.5 billion by targeting airlines and their passengers.

As part of the deficit-reduction suggestions the president made recently to the congressional supercommittee of lawmakers tasked with cutting $1.5 trillion or more from the federal deficit, Obama has called for a per-takeoff fee on flights that could run as high as $100. The president's plan also includes an $7.50 increase in the security taxes passengers each way of their trips.

The Washington, D.C.-based Air Transport Association of America (ATA) said Tuesday that Obama should look else where for money to lower the federal debt.

“Airlines are the physical Internet, connecting people, products and the world, driving the global economy and creating millions of jobs. To further burden this already financially challenged industry is both illogical and a job destroyer. The results will be devastating to the U.S. economy,” ATA President Nicholas Calio said in remarks from a speech in Washington that were circulated by the organization Tuesday afternoon.

The ATA said that, currently, passengers pay 20 percent of their airfare in taxes to the federal government, which adds up to about $61 on a $300 plane ticket.

The group said it was not opposed to working with the Obama administration, but it argues the airline industry already has a big enough tax burden.

“We are saddled with tax and regulatory mandates and restrictions that are unheard of for other industries,” Calio said in his speech, which was given at the International Aviation Club of Washington.

"We are ready and willing to work collaboratively with the U.S. Government on our nation’s priorities for the future, using all the good work that has already been done. We need an airline policy that will treat our airlines like the global businesses they are, and enable them to operate as such,” he continued.

Earlier Tuesday, another group, the Alliance for Aviation Across America, criticized Obama for frequently suggesting that private jet owners are wealthy individuals who could afford to pay higher taxes. 

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