<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by whughes3:
The thing that puzzles me is how the *arrivals* tax at SYD international got through! Some years ago when the government tried to bring this in, as I recall the airlines said 'stuff you, collect it yourself' which proved totally impractical of course, so the whole idea was dropped: what was different this time I wonder?</font>
There is
NO arrivals tax at Sydney International. There is a charge which is levied - by the airport - on every passenger which goes through the terminal, whether they be arriving or departing. Since it is imposed by the airport (and not by the government) it is not a tax, and therefore cannot be changed by exerting political pressure (which is what happened a few years back - btw, it was not avoided, check your next international ticket, there is a tax called the "Passenger Movement Charge, forget the code for it, but it will be on your ticket).
The only way they will be able to avoid this charge, imposed by a private company (albeit 100% owned by the government, but a private company nevertheless) is to not fly into Sydney, something they will not even contemplate doing.
Dave