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The taxes expired last month after Congress failed to pass a funding extension for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but some airlines have continued to include the cost of the tax in their ticket prices.
“The bottom line is consumers are being taken advantage of by some of the airlines,” said Thompson. “Air carriers are including the cost of an expired tax in their ticket prices, rather than passing the savings on to consumers. Airlines shouldn’t be increasing their prices and their profits at the expense of everyday Americans.”
Rep. Thompson also expressed concern about passengers who already paid federal taxes for travel during the FAA shutdown, or were forced to pay more for their base airfare after the shutdown began. The Internal Revenue Service has requested airlines’ assistance in facilitating these refunds, but so far they have declined to do so.
“Passengers are entitled to a refund for the federal taxes paid when they purchased their ticket,” Rep. Thompson continued. “In these extraordinary times when so many Americans are out of work or simply trying to make ends meet, airlines should not be using the FAA shutdown as an excuse to pad their pockets.”
On July 29, Rep. Thompson circulated a copy of his letter on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. In less than an hour, he secured over 86 signatures from his colleagues. The letter has 91 total co-signers. The full text of the letter, which is addressed to Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta Air Lines and Chair of the Air Transport Association, is available below:
“Like you, we are discouraged that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been shut down. As a result of this shut down, vital aviation improvements are being put off, thousands of FAA employees have been furloughed, and the Aviation Trust Fund, the fund needed to maintain our aviation system, has effectively been shuttered.
“Given these dramatic turn of events, we are dismayed by public reports that some airlines are taking advantage of everyday Americans. Specifically, we understand that some airlines are continuing to charge passengers for the cost of federal aviation taxes on their tickets even though these taxes have expired, and keeping the money for themselves.
“Consumers quite frankly are being taken advantage of by these airlines. Instead of taking advantage of the FAA shut down, airlines should be passing these immediate savings on to the consumers now. However, it appears that most airlines have taken the alternative route by increasing prices and their profits at the expense of everyday Americans.
“In addition, we are concerned about those consumers who purchased their tickets and paid the applicable excise taxes prior to the FAA shut down. These passengers, who are traveling during this shut down, are entitled to a refund for these federal taxes paid when they purchased their ticket. The Internal Revenue Service has requested airlines assistance in facilitating these refunds. Airlines are best suited to do so because they already have the purchaser information and can streamline refunds. However, so far airlines have declined to do so.
“Therefore, we urge the Air Transport Association (ATA) and all of your member airlines to charge the same price for airfare that you did immediately before the FAA shutdown. In addition, for those passengers who already paid federal excise taxes for travel scheduled during the FAA shutdown or who were forced to pay more for their base airfare because of their profiteering tactics after the FAA shutdown took effect, they should immediately be given a refund of those cost overruns.
“In these extraordinary times when so many Americans are out of work or simply trying to make ends meet, airlines should not be taking advantage of things like an FAA shutdown to increase their profits. We look forward to hearing from the ATA regarding this important issue.”
Thompson represents California’s 1st Congressional District, which includes Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, and portions of Sonoma and Yolo counties. He is a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Rep. Thompson is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and Co-Chair of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus.
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BIGGS, Calif. – The California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation, the University of California, and the United States Department of Agriculture will hold the annual Rice Field Day on Wednesday, Aug. 31 at the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs.
Registration and poster viewing will begin at 7:30 a.m. and will be followed by the general meeting.
The business meeting will include reports by the chairman and treasurer of the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation, the Rice Research Trust, and the California Rice Research Board.
It will conclude with the presentation of the D. Marlin Brandon Rice Research Fellowship and the California Rice Industry Award.
From 9:30 a.m. to noon, field tours will be conducted of the research nurseries focusing on breeding, disease resistance, weed control and entomology.
The tours will be followed by a luncheon at noon.
There is no charge for this event.
The Rice Experiment Station is located 2.5 miles west of Highway 99 on Highway 162 towards Butte City.
Further information can be obtained at www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/ricestation/ or by calling the Rice Experiment Station at 530-868-5481.
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The intent of the table is to make it more convenient for taxpayers not registered with the BOE to comply with their use tax obligations by giving taxpayers the option to report their estimated use tax liabilities, determined from a use tax table, instead of calculating and reporting their actual unpaid use tax liabilities.
The board is now required under provisions of a new law to annually calculate the estimated amount of use tax due based on a person's California adjusted gross income (AGI).
SB 86 (Ch. 14, Stats. 2011) requires the BOE to provide the amounts in the form of a use tax table to the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) by July 30 of each calendar year, beginning this year.
The FTB provides the Use Tax Look-Up Table as part of the California income tax return instructions beginning in calendar year 2011.
On Tuesday the board approved the 2011 Use Tax Look-Up Table as follows:
Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) – Use Tax Liability
less than $20,000 – $7
$200,00 to $39,999 – $21
$40,000 to $59,999 – $35
$60,000 to $79,999 – $49
$80,000 to $99,999 – $63
$100,000 to $149,999 – $88
$150,000 to $199,999 – $123
More than $199,999 – Multiply AGI by 0.070%
This Use Tax Look-Up Table is estimated to result in additional revenues of $10.6 million in 2011-12 and annually thereafter, $6.5 million of which is General Fund. The remainder will go to local governments.
The use tax, the counterpart to the sales tax, has been the law since 1935.
Use tax is owed on purchases made out-of-state when the tax was not collected by a registered retailer.
Use tax is generally due on purchases made through mail-order or Internet retailers.
Individuals who owe use tax may pay the tax directly to the BOE or declare and pay the tax through the state income tax return by using the use tax line provided on the return.
For more information on other taxes and fees in California, visit www.taxes.ca.gov.
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The meeting will be held at a new location, the clubhouse at the entrance of 1800 S. Main St.
Both members and nonmembers are welcome.
Social hour will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a no-host wine and beer bar and complimentary light appetizers.
The program will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., and will include the Business of the Quarter Award.
The association's 2011-12 goals and projects also will be discussed. Find out what's in store for downtown Lakeport in the next 12 months.
RSVP is appreciated. Call 707-263-8843 or e-mail