The amounts spent on roadworks have been decreasing year after year since the opposition municipal government came to power.Continue reading
Although the Curia annulled the air passenger tax with retroactive effect and deemed it unlawful, the inventor of the HUF 1,000 (EUR 2.65) tax, Sándor Szaniszló, mayor of District XVIII, said that they would not give up and in a few months they will try again to collect money from passengers departing, arriving, and transferring from Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, writes Világgazdaság.
The opposition-led district, whose mayor is a Democratic Coalition politician, wants to tax passengers, and the only exceptions would be business travelers, district residents, and people under 18. According to the mayor, the district is entitled to the money because of noise and environmental pollution, as the airport is located in this district.
It was later revealed that the local government would mainly use the extra money for asphalting, as they had asked the capital’s administration for money to renovate the roads but had not received any. Many roads in the capital could do with resurfacing, but the budget allocated is the lowest in recent years.
From the outset, the plan for District XVIII was considered illegal by airlines, Budapest Airport, ground handling services, tax experts, and the National Association of Consumer Protection Associations. The response of Mayor Sándor Szaniszló to the opposition was that no one is ever happy to pay taxes.
According to the report in Világgazdaság, the district is hoping for extra revenue, but it seems that local leaders have no idea how the aviation industry works. They cite the fact that
the proposed air passenger tax violates a number of legislation, and that no one needs an address card when buying a flight ticket, so the previously mentioned discount for residents living in District XVIII is not really available.
The mayor has also previously claimed that several airlines had accepted the tax and included it in the ticket price, but this has not been confirmed by any of the aviation companies.
If District XVIII were somehow to succeed in introducing an air passenger tax, it would probably have a negative impact on other municipalities, as other districts in Budapest could also claim extra revenue due to the complexes there. District XIV, for example, where Puskás Aréna is located, could impose an extra tax on all tickets for national football matches, as it is the people living in the area who suffer the most from the 67,000 people cheering them on. Moreover, District VI could make train tickets more expensive, as Nyugati Railway Station is the noisiest, and District IX could also expect to raise revenue from “noisy” people at concerts in the MVM Dome.
Featured photo via Facebook/Budapest Airport
