Originally Posted by
jsloan
A
PFCs pretty clearly do not.
14 CFR 158.45(3)ii (Passenger Facility Charges):
The US Transportation Tax (US) and Flight Segment Tax (ZP) are a little less clear.
26 USC §4261. It defines the taxable event as "the beginning of the domestic segment," but it doesn't really define "beginning," and the definition is buried in a section describing indexing the taxes for inflation. However, it also contains a provision that the segment tax doesn't change if the number of segments changes without a re-fare.
Closer, but still not authoritative. The real issue would be the statue. Just because the FAA says they get to keep it does not mean the statute does. There are also those pesky things like the constitution and the amendments. government confiscation of wealth from any source generally requires a taxable event. The real question would be - does purchasing a ticket constitute a taxable event if the trip is not taken? I have no idea. Would be a fun court case though wouldn't it? Can you imagine the airlines if they were forced to refund the taxes from all unused tickets? and the FAA and other regulatory agencies would also have a lot of fun.
Title 26 section 4261 would be found to be refundable IMHO. The idea that there is a beginning means that the journey began. Not that one was planning. Of course others may see it differently.
I suppose if there was a class out there and someone willing to sue one could find a greedy lawyer. Like I said before, this is almost all theoretical. I have neither the time nor the inclination to chase this down.