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Pardon the expression and pardon to our genetic ancestors but even a retarded blind monkey can see the discrimination with regard to the departure tax.
An EU citizen has the fundamental right to leave his country for another EU country based on the principle of free movement of people. Free movement of people is a basic pillar of the single area the European Union (EU) has been building since its creation. It is acknowledged as a fundamental right for EU citizens based on the Treaty of Rome in 1957.
The departure tax is an impediment of this principle of free movement of people.
EU citizens buying an air-ticket to Malta in another EU country do not pay the Departure Tax. They also do not buy one ticket. They do in fact buy two tickets, one for the flight to Malta and one for the flight from Malta, called flight coupons. As Air Malta so significantly demonstrates in its new dynamic pricing structure, "Flexifly" which came into effect on 01 November 2004. It is a new concept of airline pricing based on one-way fares.
Thus two passengers on any flight from Malta are discriminated by the origin of the geographic location of the purchase of the ticket (the passenger with the ticket from Malta towards the other passenger).
In addition the tax is only applicable to paying passengers. Passengers who do not pay for a flight ticket (for example non-commercial flights) are not asked to pay the departure tax. The same goes for the sea-embarkation tax. Passengers using the ferries are requested to pay, but non-ferry passengers are not.
As Dr Simon Busuttil rightly and brightly remarked: "Malta is an island and consequently we are restricted in our choice of transport means. We cannot drive out of the country or catch a train. We are constrained to use the plane (or ship), which is already one of the most expensive means of travel."
Thus travelling from Belgium to France and vice versa (or between or bordering EU countries) is free from any departure tax. Commuters within the EU can freely move from one country to another without being restricted by taxes. People who work in Strasbourg and live in Germany do so daily. The fact that Malta doesn’t have road access to other EU countries demands the use of other means of transport. Those other means should not be burdened with departure-taxes.
Robert G. Coenen
St Julians
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