Caleb Tiller , 703-684-0836, ext. 138
Courtney Leigh Beisel , 703-684-0836, ext. 133
Alexandria, VA (June 8, 2006) -- The National Business Travel Association (NBTA), the advocacy association for the corporate travel industry, lauds the U.S. House of Representatives’ defeat of a proposed increase to the air security fee levied on air travelers that was included in the proposed budget for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
NBTA Executive Director and COO Bill Connors, CTC, commented, “NBTA is pleased the U.S. House has defeated the proposed increase to the air security fee levied on air travel. NBTA and its members have been vocal opponents of the proposed increase due to the potential negative impact the increase would have on businesses and the nation’s economy. Our efforts included meetings with Senate and Congressional offices during NBTA’s Legislative Summit in April. It is rewarding to know that our efforts to protect the interests of the corporate travel industry have been heard on Capitol Hill, and we urge the Senate to finalize the defeat of the proposed tax increase for American travelers.”
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Scott Solombrino, President of the NBTA Allied Leadership Council, Suzanne Fletcher, President and CEO of NBTA, Dan Lungren (R-CA), Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and Carol Devine, CCTE, Past President and Chairman of the Board of NBTA, at the NBTA 2006 Legislative Summit (Left to Right) |
The proposal, part of the Bush administration’s budget for 2007, called for the replacement of a two-tiered system for air security fees with a single flat fee of $5 for one-way tickets. Under the current system, a $2.50 fee is levied per flight segment for a maximum of $5 per one-way trip. The increase would have effectively doubled the tax on a non-stop flight. A recent NBTA poll of corporate travel managers indicated that more than 60 percent of their company’s flights are non-stop, making the proposed increase a significant expense for American businesses.
Connors continued, “Taxes and fees already comprise more than a quarter of what the average air passenger pays for a ticket, more than the so-called ‘sin taxes’ imposed on alcohol and tobacco products. Coupled with increasing travel costs, the introduction of the proposed security fee increase would have had a dramatic impact on the nation’s economy through increased business travel expenses.”
In April, more than 50 corporate travel managers and suppliers convened in Washington, D.C., as part of NBTA’s annual Legislative Summit to lobby against the proposed air security fee increase and to educate lawmakers on the issues impacting corporate travel. NBTA believes that air security is national security and therefore should be funded through general funds, not by increasing taxes and fees on travel. A similar air security fee increase introduced in the 2006 budget was defeated by Congress at the urging of NBTA.
The National Business Travel Association is the source for critical information on the business travel industry. For more than 35 years, NBTA has dedicated itself to the professional development of its members through advocacy, education and training, and networking opportunities. NBTA represents over 2,700 corporate and government travel managers and travel service providers, who collectively manage and direct more than $170 billion of expenditures within the business travel industry. For more on NBTA, visit www.nbta.org.
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