B6 Blows Off Pax For Illegally Collected Tax: 'File Claim With IRS'
 

We received an email from JetBlue refusing to refund the unauthorized and illegally collected tax on our ticket. They claim "IRS already has the money" and we need to go file a claim with the IRS. This is absolutely outrageous and unacceptable. First of all JetBlue had no legal authority to collect this tax. Second, if JetBlue really wanted pax to file claims with the IRS, they would issue an IRS Form W-2 or whatever. JetBlue has provided no information as to how one is supposed to go about filing with the IRS for this money.

Write to your congressman and complain. The IRS is only requesting that airlines refund the taxes at this time.

You seem to be confusing two different issues. Jetblue is no longer collecting this tax, along with all other domestic airlines. At the same time, most of the airlines are saying the same thing, which is to contact the IRS. They already have the money. It should be their responsibility to refund the money, not the airlines.

You need to provide more details. Did they charge you taxes after midnight on 7/22? If they charged you taxes prior to that (no matter when the flight was for) the tax was neither "unauthorized" nor "illegally collected". A lot of airlines may have been charging the taxes for a few hours after midnight (for example if their systems were based on the West Coast, even though it was after midnight on the East Coast, the system may have still recognized the day as 7/22).

If they just charged $20 or so more than they were charging the previous day, then they were being like 95% of the other airlines out there by increasing their prices by the exact amount of the expired tax. Though "bogus" this behavior was not illegal; one could choose to only fly airlines that did not increase fares but then one would be stuck on Spirit.

Watch my lips. JetBlue charged me taxes after midnight on 7/22 but before they raised fares to compensate. This was illegal and unauthorized. JetBlue admits this. I don't believe they immediately sent the money to IRS, but so what if they did? It's JetBlue's problem to refund this money, not to fob off their customers on the IRS.

So, was this at 12:01 AM EDT on the 23rd or was it after 3:01 AM EDT on the 23rd? As I said in my earlier post (and have now bolded) that might make a difference as JetBlue's systems may have still calculated your fare as if it had been booked on the 22nd if it was booked piror to 3:01 AM EDT.

OK, painfully obvious question, but it needs asking...

Why on earth did you give your CC number when the invoice had a "illegal and unauthorized charge" on the reciept?

The only question that needs asking, is, where the heck is my money, and why hasn't JetBlue refunded it yet?

If I purchase a fully refundable ticket, and later cancel for a refund, do I need to request the tax portion from the IRS and the non-tax portion from the airline?

what time did you purchase the ticket?

Is this now moot? I thought that the FAA reauthorization was retroactive.

My favorite thread of the week. Almost sounds like Al Sharpton using terms like "no legal authority", "unauthorized", "illegally", "absolutely outrageous" and "unacceptable." I would recommend that the OP do some research before making such claims as none of them are true.

Correct. B6 did the right thing, since the possibility of a retroactive reauthorization was highly likely.

Here is a link to the details of the IRS ruling:

http://www.mainstreet.com/article/li...unds-after-all

The fed gov't has the that money collected and have instruded the airlines to advised passengers contact the IRS (not JetBlue) for the refund. JetBlue is just fallowing orders from a higher authority.

How much money are we talking about anyway?