Democrat congressman marks Bezos’ suborbital flight by calling for tax on SPACE TOURISM — RT USA News

“House exploration is not a tax-free vacation for the rich,” Blumenauer, a senior member of the Home Methods and Means Committee, mentioned in an announcement on Tuesday.

Simply as regular People pay taxes after they purchase airline tickets, billionaires who fly into house to provide nothing of scientific worth ought to do the identical, after which some.

Blumenauer’s assertion got here simply earlier than Bezos and three different passengers took half within the first manned house mission by the billionaire’s Blue Origin rocket-ship agency. The crew landed in west Texas after briefly floating in house. Simply 9 days earlier, fellow billionaire Richard Branson accomplished an analogous suborbital flight by his spaceflight firm, Virgin Galactic.

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The Oregon politician’s proposed tax, which he requires in a invoice named the Securing Protections In opposition to Carbon Emissions (SPACE) Tax Act, would appear to suit with a typical Democrat technique of exploiting class tensions. Bezos, who ranks because the world’s richest individual, and Branson had already drawn criticism for utilizing their wealth to fly into house, quite than spend money on ways in which assist folks. The Amazon founder riled critics additional when, upon returning to earth, he thanked staff and prospects by saying, “you guys paid for all this.”

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However Blumenauer’s plan additionally may very well be a major income generator for the federal government if house tourism turns into as massive as Branson, Bezos and one other billionaire rocket-ship entrepreneur, Elon Musk, have predicted.

The congressman has clearly thought the difficulty by way of. He famous that whereas transatlantic airline flights have related carbon footprints to suborbital journeys, house launches generate 60 instances the per-passenger emissions. And with Virgin Galactic trying to ship a load of vacationers into house each 32 hours, the numbers might add up.

Blumenauer mentioned the brand new tax ought to be utilized on a per-passenger foundation and range primarily based on altitude. Flights going greater than 80 miles above the earth’s floor, just like the suborbital journey Bezos loved on Tuesday, can be taxed increased.

NASA flights for scientific-research functions can be exempted from the levy. In instances the place some passengers are engaged on behalf of NASA for scientific development, the tax would solely be levied for the vacationers who’re simply alongside for a pleasure journey.

“Issues which might be finished purely for tourism or leisure and that do not have a scientific function ought to in flip assist the general public good,” Blumenauer mentioned.

Members of Congress even have begun enthusiastic about regulating house tourism on considerations over public security and air site visitors, however a moratorium on such rulemaking has been put in place till 2023 to encourage innovation.

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