• shane@feddit.nl
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    4 days ago

    Do planes have to pay tax on their fuel yet? Asking for a friend…

    • JasSmith@sh.itjust.works
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      3 days ago

      No, but allow me to ask you in the same spirit: do planes require tens of billions of euro of subsidies each year for train tracks? No. Obviously these two forms of transport are quite different. The EU subsidises air travel (including said avgas tax exemption) to the tune of around €30–40 billion annually depending on what you include and what you consider to be a “subsidy.” Using similar criteria, rail is subsidised to the tune of €40–75 billion per year. So rail gets a lot more investment despite it serving 16% fewer travel kilometers per year in the EU than air travel.