Foreign Minister: Time To Tax Airline Tickets

Minister of Foreign Affairs Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson believes one of the ways to confront growing tourism is to start levying taxes on airline tickets.

In an interview with Skessuhorn, Gunnar Bragi said that while Icelanders have invested a great deal in the roads system, we never expected just how popular tourism in Iceland was going to be. The number of tourists is now fast outpacing our ability to keep things running smoothly, he said, and finances are running short.

His solution to the problem: putting a tax on airline tickets, with the proceeds going straight into the treasury.

“I think the time has come to put some kind of tax on airline tickets coming to the country,” he said. “Icelanders would of course have to pay this tax, too.”

The minister did not say if he has any legislation in the works for this idea, but the proposal has been floated in the past, as an option to the now-deceased Nature Pass.