Air tax increased $3.10 in budget deal

The tax on airline ticket purchases that is normally paid by passengers for airport security is increasing by $3.10 in the budget deal that was agreed to by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Tuesday.

The Murray-Ryan deal, which has been dubbed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, sets the aviation security fee at $5.60 for each leg of a trip beginning on Oct. 1, 2014.

The fee is currently $2.50 for each leg, with a cap of $5 overall on an airline ticket.

{mosads}It is charged on every flight that originates at a U.S. airport. The money has traditionally been used to pay for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The Murray-Ryan legislation uses the increased fee as a part of a package revenue-raisers to replace $63 billion in automatic spending cuts, however.

The airline industry has fought off previous attempts to increase the aviation security fee, but the bill containing the language of the budget deal says the fee hike will generate $390 million in 2014 and more than $1 billion in subsequent years.

The bill specifies that the money will be deposited in the federal government’s general fund.

The full text of the Murray-Ryan budget bill can be read here.