Those With PJs Emit Tons, But Pay Pennies

Private jets are a luxury that’s dirtier than what most jet owners had to do to get all that money. Four hours of flying on a private jet produces more climate pollution than what an average person in the EU produces in a year, and aviation contributes to global warming more than most countries. New analysis by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) finds that private jet owners are not just emitting more, but paying much less in taxes for doing so. Those who fly on commercial flights pay a 7.5 percent tax and separate $4.50 surcharge to fund the services of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Private flights, in contrast, are exempt from these fees, and fund just 2 percent of the money directed to the FAA, yet are one out of every six flights the FAA handles. “The private jet folks are not, in our analysis, chipping in to the system,” Chuck Collins, a director at IPS, told CBS News. “You’re subsidizing the air travel space — they’re not paying 70% of the cost of the air traffic system,” he said. “In effect, commercial passengers subsidize the carbon and convenience of the High Flyers,” the IPS report notes, alongside recommendations for how to more equitably tax private jet travel. (CBS News, Gizmodo)