Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33) Leads Bipartisan Call to Extend Travel Tax Relief

Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Marc Veasey (D-TX), joined by Representatives Charlie Crist (D-FL), Jennifer González-Colón (R-PR), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), and Van Taylor (R-TX), led a 51-member letter calling for Congress to extend the aviation tax holiday, put in place by the CARES Act, to protect consumers and airline workers as the industry struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Should the tax holiday be allowed to expire on schedule at the end of this year, air travel consumers will be directly impacted, paying 11 percent more for the average ticket, which could reduce demand by an estimated 35 million passengers. This alone would endanger the jobs of millions of flight attendants, pilots, mechanics, customer service agents, and more in the airline industry. In the letter to House leadership, the Members ask that aviation excise taxes be suspended until the end of 2021 or until airline passenger traffic returns to 75 percent of its 2019 levels, citing current airlines passenger levels of only 25 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels.

"The airline industry provides good jobs for thousands of Texans. It's also important for North Texans to remember that approximately 30,000 North Texas airline workers use mom and pop dry cleaners, dine at small family owned restaurants and spend those dollars at a variety of other small establishments likewise. Removing that many well-paying jobs from our local economy would be a death blow to so many small and family owned businesses," Congressman Marc Veasey said. "I am proud to join a bipartisan group of my colleagues on this letter because Congress must ensure this vital industry will get the relief it needs to protect the lives and livelihoods of those workers employed by this sector."

"Extending CARES Act aviation tax relief will prevent a significant increase in the price of airline tickets on January 1. Now is not the time to reimpose taxes on American consumers. Instead, we should encourage air travel and stimulate activity in the travel and tourism sector," saidSouthwest Airlines Chairman and CEO, Gary Kelly. "As Congress considers additional legislation to address the pandemic's impact, I am grateful for the broad bipartisan support for extending sensible aviation tax relief, led by Representatives Crist, González-Colón, Escobar, and Taylor, as well as the many other Members of Congress who have already signed-on to this effort."

A pdf of the letter can be found here.