European railway operators have asked the European Union ministers of finances to end the exemption of customs taxes for the fuels used in air transport as, according to them, it generates unbalanced taxation between transport modes resulting in unfair competition, according to the International Railway Journal.
During the Conference on the establishment of pollution costs and air transport taxes recently held in Hague, the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) said the exemption of air transport fuel from taxation is neither fair, nor appropriate.
“For such a significant climate impact as that of air transport, almost six times higher than that of railways regarding CO2 emissions per passenger-km, there is no reason for tax exemption”, said CER in a press release.
“Ultimately, what matters for railway transport in terms of taxes is to have fair competition between transport modes. For a long time, CER has tried to benefit from the same general VAT exemption for cross-border transport. (…) specifically, regarding electric energy, railways should not pay any additional tax for renewable energy, a principle violated in countries such as Germany”.
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