Model Essay
Air traffic is increasingly leading to more noise, pollution, and airport
constuction. One reason for this is the growth in low-cost passenger
flights, often to holiday destinations.
Some people say that government should try to reduce air traffic by taxing
it more heavily.
Do you agree or disagree?
Over recent years there has been an enormous increase in the amount of air
traffic around the world
resulting in various problems, and a major cause of
this has been the growth of low-cost airlines. Although some people believe
that taxes should be increased for air travel, I disagree.
Those that support taxing airlines believe that this will result in a reduction
in this type of travel and thus solve
the problems of pollution, noise and
construction. This is because a tax would make the cost of travelling more
expensive, which will, they claim, lead to a decrease in demand.
Proponents
of this solution believe that taxes are fair because everyone has to pay them
and it is a workable solution that will have the additional bonus of
providing an income for the government.
However, there are a number of reasons why this is not the right course of
action. Firstly, a tax is not fair because it will adversely affect people on
lower incomes. Such a tax would have to be
a fixed amount paid equally
whether you are rich or poor, which means that those on lower incomes
would find it more difficult to travel, but it would likely have little effect on
the lives of those with a higher income.
In addition, such a tax would not
work. For example, we have seen taxes increase in most countries on cars,
but this has had little affect, with car use continuing to grow.
To sum up, it is evident that introducing heavy taxes
on air travel is not fair
or workable. If we continue to explore alternatives, we can continue to
enjoy the benefits that air travel offers.
