These are our local carriers. This will hurt Hawaii. Tourism is Hawaii's largest industry. International visitors are a vital part of our tourism industry. The change in the ticket tax on international flights puts a greater tax burden on international visitors.
International tourism is a major foreign exchange earner for the United States.
It is one of the bright spots in our balance of payments picture. It generates millions of American jobs. Because of my reservations about the airline ticket tax, I will work with all my energy to repeal these provisions in the future. Falling short of perfection is inherent in the nature of legislation, tax legislation in particular. This version of H.R.2014 honors the principle of fairness.