Aviation fuel tax? Good start!

The Young European Federalists (JEF-Europe) welcome the recent comments by Council President Jean-Claude Juncker, raising the idea of a EU-wide tax on aviation fuel (kerosene).

“The idea of having a EU-wide tax is not new; such a system would provide a fair system of raising budgetary resources in the EU,” commented Jon Worth, President of JEF-Europe.

“It would certainly mark an improvement over the existing system of national contributions.”

“In addition, in this specific case it is very legitimate - climate change is clearly a cross-border matter, so it’s only right that the EU should be involved at the supranational level.”

“If the EU acts on this matter, it will hopefully force other developed countries such as the USA and Japan to follow suit.”

“The precedent that this could set for the EU, and the planet as a whole, could be really profound.”

JEF-Europe however urges some caution over how the tax should be organized. Having long campaigned for a federal Europe, with the EU having its own tax-raising powers, the debate should not remain confined.

“Debating aviation fuel tax in the Council alone is not enough; agreeing it just among the Member States is not acceptable,” continued Jon Worth.

“The EU should be able to raise the funds it needs for all its projects, and this needs a generalized system of EU-level taxation.”

“Additional burden on the economy should be avoided, and the present system of nationa contributions replaced.”

“The level of taxation, and the form that any tax would take, are questions that can only be answered according to what the citizens want - that means giving the European Parliament the power to determine the size of the EU budget and determine how that money is raised.”

“JEF-Europe welcomes debate about kerosene as a start of a wider debate about how the EU can raise funds independently, and in which areas this might be legitimate.”