Countries want to move forward with taxes on private jets and

Eight countries , including France , Kenya and Spain , created a coalition on Monday to advance taxation of the airline sector , with the prospect of eventually imposing fees on private jets and passengers traveling in premium classes .

This coalition , announced during a UN conference on development financing that opened Monday in the Spanish city of Seville, "will work towards a greater contribution of the aviation sector" to " climate resilience ," announced Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez .

The eight countries involved (France, Kenya, Spain, Benin, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Barbados, and Antigua and Barbuda) will focus in particular on introducing "a specific tax on business class tickets and private jets ," he added.

In a statement, the Elysée Palace confirmed this initiative and specified that its objective was to "improve the mobilization of national revenue in developing countries and support international solidarity ," particularly for " adaptation to climate change ."

The aim is to "increase the number of countries that tax airline tickets , including luxury travel , and to tax private jets based on best practices ," while ensuring "greater progressivity in countries that already have these taxes ," the Elysée Palace said.

• This announcement was welcomed by the NGO Greenpeace , which urged in a statement "all countries to join and implement the commitments " made by this "new coalition of solidarity" in the run-up to the COP30 climate change conference, to be held in November in Belém, Brazil .

• At COP28 in Dubai in 2023, Barbados , France and Kenya launched a working group , supported by the European Commission , to explore the possibility of applying " global solidarity " taxes to polluting sectors such as fossil fuel production and aviation .

This group, which has since been working on introducing specific taxes on private jets and airline tickets , estimated in a report published on June 19 that these measures could "generate substantial revenues ," up to 187 billion euros ($220 billion) if widespread.

The mega-vogue jets in Venice

At least 95 private jets requested permission to land at Venice Marco Polo Airport, according to the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, to take their owners to the sumptuous wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the 61-year-old billionaire, and journalist Lauren Sánchez.

Others of the dozens of celebrities arrived on yachts, prompting protests from Venetians, who claimed the city was invaded by the wedding.

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