Invest in Green Transit
CHUCK COLLINS for Common Dreams
The colorfully named “FATCAT Act” (standing for Fueling Alternative
Transportation with a Carbon Aviation Tax), would hike fuel taxes on
private jets from the current 22 cents a gallon to $1.95 per gallon. This would
effectively increase the cost to $200 per metric ton of private jet CO2
emissions.
The legislation was in part inspired by a report released
by the Institute for Policy Studies and the Patriotic Millionaires, High Flyers
2023: How Ultra-Rich Private Jet Travel Costs the Rest of Us and Burns Up the
Planet.
The report found that private jets emit at least 10 to 20
times more pollutants than commercial planes per passenger. The wealthiest 1%
of air travelers are responsible for about half of all aviation carbon
emissions.
Private jets do not pay their fair share of the costs of operating the air control system. Private jets make up approximately one out of every six flights handled by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) but contribute just 2% of the taxes that make up the trust fund that primarily funds the FAA.
Private jet travelers are among the richest people in
U.S. society. The median net worth of a full and fractional private jet owner
is $190 million and $140 million respectively. The jet-owning oligarchy is
overwhelmingly male, over the age of 50, and concentrated in the industries of
banking, finance, and real estate.
Tax revenue generated by the FATCAT Act would be directed
to the Airport & Airway Trust Fund and a newly created federal Clean
Communities Trust Fund to support air monitoring for environmental justice
communities and long-term investments in clean, affordable public
transportation across the country—including passenger rail and bus routes near
commercial airports.
“Billionaires and the ultra-wealthy are getting a bargain, paying less in taxes
each year to fly private and contribute more pollution than millions of drivers
combined on the roads below. It’s time to ground these fat cats and make them pay
their fair share so that we can invest in building public transportation that
communities across the country and our economy desperately need.”
“Working families shouldn’t subsidize the ultra-wealthy to fly private and destroy our environment,” said Congresswoman Velázquez.
“If
billionaires want to travel on private jets, they should pay similar taxes to
those flying commercial. It’s time for the rich to pay for their pollution so
we can fund environmental justice initiatives and affordable public
transportation across the country.”
Private jet users should pay the real environmental costs
of their indefensible luxury transportation choice. Senator Markey’s
legislation is a bold step in right direction and generates funds for urgently
needed transportation alternatives.
CHUCK COLLINS is a senior scholar at the Institute for
Policy Studies where he co-edits Inequality.org.
His near future novel "Altar to An Erupting Sun” explores one
community’s response to climate disruption. He is author of numerous books and
reports on inequality and the racial wealth divide, including “The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Spend Millions
to Hide Trillions,” “Born on Third Base,” and, with Bill Gates
Sr., of “Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why American Should Tax
Accumulated Fortunes.” See more of his writing at www.chuckcollinswrites.com