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One question I have thought of that is seldom discussed is this:
  • How would global transportation have developed if there were no international agreements prohibiting the taxation of aviation fuel??
I have guessed that the more densely populated and industrialised nations of Europe and East Asia – where dense populations allow the distribution of air transport’s enormous fixed costs amongst many passengers – might have taxed aviation fuel very heavily, and potentially taxed it more than car fuels. In contrast, Australia, and other resource-rich nations, might have still maintained near-zero tax on aviation fuel, as this would be the only thing acceptable to those who own mines extracting titanium, which is largely used to make aircraft.

Without international agreements against taxing aviation fuel, I can imagine that cheap airfares across Europe and East Asia would never have developed, as taxing aviation fuel would have become a very good revenue source even if only available for intercontinental flights. International bus services would have been used much more across Europe and Asia, and more extensive high-speed rail networks would have crossed national boundaries. However, international airlines would likely have taken advantage of concessional or low taxes in natural-resource-rich nations to divert flights there (e.g. to Sydney) which would have made air travel less efficient.
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