The EU Commission finds that the lower rate of the air travel tax for flights to a destination located no more than 300 km from Dublin airport constitutes illegal State aid (Irish air travel tax rates)

Taxes and Tax Reductions on Air Travel: Selectivity and Compatibility* This posting examines an Irish and a German measure concerning reduction in passenger taxes. As to be expected, an important issue for both measures was whether the reduction was selective or not. The analysis of the Commission does not really break new ground. What is more instructive with these two cases is the range and ingenuity of the arguments advanced by Ireland and Germany in their defence and the reasons why the Commission rejected them. Once the selectivity of the two measures was established, the next important issue was their compatibility with the internal market. The Irish measure was declared incompatible. The German measure was found to be compatible and in compliance with the Environmental Aid