Travelers May Face a Global Warming Tax

The British Foreign Secretary thinks that assessing a tax on holiday travelers will help stop global warming:

Holidaymakers could be hit with a "global warming" tax of up to £50 under plans aimed at forcing airlines to reduce gas emissions.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said the new charges should be imposed by as early as 2008 or Britain will be thrown into "climate chaos".

In a keynote speech, Mrs Beckett urged Brussels to speed up plans to enforce the levy on airlines to encourage them to fly more fuel-effecient planes and deter people from travelling by air.

The cost is almost certain to be passed on to holidaymakers as budget airlines would be worst affected by what the aviation industry describes as a "tax on holidays".

There's a fundamental law of taxation that says whatever you tax you get less of, which means if this tax is enacted, Britain can expect fewer holiday travelers. At least global warming won't make things uncomfortable for all those in the British tourism industry who will be standing outside the unemployment office.

If she really wants to go after serious greenhouse gas generators, she should take a shot at these celebrities who claim to be green while burning thousands of gallons of jet fuel as they head off to their holiday retreats.