Train travel is often more expensive than flying. Could taxing aviation to invest in the rail industry help change that?

One of the main reasons for the disparity is the lower taxes that the aviation industry benefits from.

If you fly from Paris to Barcelona the airline not only pays no VAT, but is also exempt from kerosene tax. If you make the same journey by train, the rail company will pay an energy tax and passenger VAT. This means higher costs for the company which are usually reflected in ticket prices.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/7Zrur

  • sarsaparilyptus@midwest.social
    10·
    1 year ago

    “It’s not the train that’s expensive. It’s the plane that’s not expensive enough,” the CEO of SNCF Jean-Pierre Farandou said in 2021.

    i.e. no, train ticket prices aren’t going down