Holiday 'Grinch' Taxes Increase Travel Costs
By Christine HallCNS Staff Writer
December 19, 2000
(CNSNews.com) - Holiday travelers will give government a big chunk of their travel budget, according to an analysis by the Washington, D.C.-based Americans for Tax Reform. An average of 41.2 percent of travel costs are actually taxes paid to federal, state and local governments in the form of taxes on purchases of air tickets, hotel rooms, restaurant meals and gas.By ATR's calculations, a $400 airline ticket would cost just $240 without the federal excise tax, passenger facilities charges, fuel taxes, arrival and departure taxes, air-traffic control surcharges and others. Hotel room taxes can more than double the cost of your stay, according to ATR. There are also 43 different taxes on gasoline, according to the group.