Mubasher: The US Senate dropped a contentious measure in its tax-reform bill that may result in costing foreign airlines, including Gulf airlines, a total of $200 million bill over the next decade.
This provision was introduced by Johnny Isakson, a Republican senator for Georgia, and stipulates that foreign airlines from nations does not have income-tax treaties with the US to pay corporate duties, according to an official statement.
The controversial measure was seen as an attempt to target Gulf carriers’ operations, some analysts reported.
The senator introduced the provision stated that it “protects Georgia airline employees by ending a tax exemption for airlines based in countries that deny fair market access for US-based airlines.”
The UAE-based Etihad Airways remarked before the vote that it was working with a vast coalition of industry representatives to push against the projected bill.
"[It is] A half-baked measure that could have impacted both tax reform and travel was recklessly tossed on the Senate's lap, and wisely disposed of,” said Jonathan Grella, the US Travel Association’s executive vice president.
The said provision removed after a few weeks of closing a $42 billion deal between UAE airlines Emirates and flydubai with Boeing, in addition to a further $1.6 billion order placed by the UAE government with Lockheed Martin.
