WHEREAS, The United States government currently collects a 10% ticket tax on the price of all domestic airline flights to fund the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This has been the way airline tickets have been taxed for over 40 years, and it is a fair and proven way to fund the FAA; and

WHEREAS, For the past two years, the nations largest airlines (American, United, Delta, TWA, US Airways, Continental, and Northwest) have been petitioning the federal government to change the current funding system from the current 10% ticket tax to a user-fee based system. Such a change would have an adverse impact on smaller carriers and would severely hinder their ability to compete; and

WHEREAS, Such a change would substantially raise the taxes of smaller carriers, dramatically increasing their operating costs. The Head Tax approach to funding the FAA threatens to seriously raise the cost of air travel for consumers by forcing low-fare carriers to substantially raise their ticket prices; and

WHEREAS, For Southwest Airlines and other similar low-fare carriers to retain their current pricing structure, it is imperative that the 10% ticket tax be reinstated as the permanent funding method for the FAA. If the federal government fails to do so, the consumer must ultimately take on the unnecessary and odious burden of higher fares for domestic airline travel; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations hereby respectfully memorializes the Congress to reinstate the 10% tax on the price of all domestic airline tickets as the permanent system to fund the Federal Aviation Administration; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to all of the members of the Rhode Island delegation to the United States Congress.