Democratic senator wants new taxes on private jet travel

Senator Ed Markey on Wednesday said he is proposing additional taxes on private jet trips to address the climate impacts of wealthy travel. Markey, a Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee that oversees aviation, said the bill would require wealthy travelers "to pay their fair share for the environmental and infrastructure costs of their use of private jets." The bill would increase the surcharge for non-commercial aviation, with the proceeds going to an environmental trust fund. Markey cited a study from the progressive Institute for Policy Studies that found private jets have emissions at least 10 times higher than commercial airline planes per passenger. "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," Markey said in a statement. The study found the size of the global private jet fleet has increased 133% in the last two decades from 9,895 in 2000 to 23,133 in mid-2022.<br/>