Airport tax in Spain to be frozen

Spanish government to freeze all airport taxes in 2010

Yesterday, the Minister for Public Works, José Blanco, announced that the government was planning to freeze all airport taxes in 2010 in an attempt to try and stimulate the economy. In a press conference in Las Palmas Blanco said discounts in taxes applicable to air passengers in the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and Melilla would also be increased by up to 30%. Blanco also announced the investment of 342.6 million euros for airports in the Balearic Islands over the next four years.

However, Francisco Alaya, the spokesperson for the PP in the Parliamentary Commission for Public Works, has criticised the government’s plans to freeze all airport taxes saying that this measure has arrived a year too late and should have been introduced in 2009. Alaya said that the PP had proposed an amendment for the General State Budget for 2009 in which it asked for airport taxes to be frozen in the face of the significant fall in the activity of this sector.

However, the amendment was rejected by the government.

Alaya said that his party had also asked for a 50% discount in taxes in air navigation for the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, something which was also rejected by the government. He said that now the government was adopting measures considered essential by the PP a year too late.

With regards to the plans to introduce discounts of up to 30% in taxes applicable to air passengers in the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and Melilla Alaya said that this measure was discriminatory and said that the discount should be as high as 50% and apply to all territories that are not connected by land to the rest of Spain.

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