Purpose

This Area of Involvement provides Strategic Partners with opportunities to engage with the IATA Industry Taxation team and taxation specialists who work for IATA's member airlines (including members of the Industry Taxation Working Group) and work together to explore ways to manage the area's administrative and financial challenges. 

Industry Taxation Strategic Partnerships Summary

The Industry Taxation Working Group is a specialized group of airline tax experts that provides technical advice and guidance to IATA management on taxation issues. Since the 1980s, many Governments have required the airline industry to collect taxes, fees and charges from consumers on their behalf. These amounts have increased from less than USD 1 billion annually, in the 80s, to more than USD 64 billion today. This results in a significant administrative and financial burden for the airline industry and higher costs for consumers - and the money collected is rarely allocated to making the aviation industry more digital, modern, safe, secure or sustainable.

Benefits

  • Invitations to attend the annual Industry Taxation Forum, held in conjunction with IATA’s World Financial Symposium
  • Preferential speaking, marketing and sponsorship opportunities at the IATA annual Industry Taxation Forum
  • Access to IATA Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
  • Opportunities to present to airlines during online taxation webinars 

Activities

Industry Taxation Working Group

  • Bi-annual webinars focusing on topics relating to Industry Taxation

Focus Areas

  • Developing strategies and action plans to protect IATA Member airlines, their customers and the overall travel and tourism sector from an ever-increasing tax burden
  • Expressing strong opposition to policies imposing taxes to finance activities other than aviation-related services, since they have a negative impact on a country’s travel and tourism industry
  • Directing the attention of aviation and non-aviation stakeholders (e.g., governments) to the real impact of taxation on transport and tourism economics
  • Sharing intelligence on new taxes with Strategic Partners and maintaining a ‘watch-list’ of potential new taxes to identify where industry advocacy efforts might be required
  • Promoting the importance and maintenance of the worldwide regime of reciprocal tax exemptions, as laid out in Policy Document 8632 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

Designed for

  • Aircraft lessors
  • Aircraft manufacturers
  • Airports
  • Fuel and SAF producers
  • Tax services and consulting firms
  • Travel and tourism entities

Please view the full list of Strategic Partnerships Program benefits (pdf).