19.03.06
Sweden's proposed tax on flights could break EU law, it has been revealed. The Swedish Council on Laws (Lagradet) has has said that the proposal to exempt domestic flights to isolated areas from the new tax appears to collide with the EU's rules on state subsidies.
The new tax will be imposed from 1st August if it passes all the legal hurdles. The council said that implementation of the tax should be postponed until the Commission has made its position clear.
Lagradet was also very critical of the fact that the government's proposal contained no analysis of the consequences of the new tax, particularly the environmental consequences. Further obstacles to the proposal have come from the Left Party. Leader Lars Ohly objects to the fact that passengers who travel on two connecting flights will have to pay the new tax twice.
The tax has already had effects on the airline industry in Sweden, even though it has not yet become law. Ryanair and a number of other airlines have threatened to scrap routes from Sweden, with Malmo's Sturup airport particularly badly affected. Airlines there are threatening to move operations across Oresund to Copenhagen's Kastrup Airport, where flight tax has been abolished.
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