National survey: Voters support increased regulations on private jets
Washington, D.C. – U.S. voters believe by a 13-point margin that private jets do more harm than good for society, according to a new Data for Progress poll released Friday by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) Program on Inequality and the Common Good.
Voters also have negative views, by an over 20-point margin, of private jet use for politicians, big tech execs, ICE, and vacation/leisure, and oppose jets “to transport the children of wealthy Americans to summer camp,” by 38 points.
“While many Americans are not sure where they stand on the issue of private jets, voters report that they want billionaire jet setters to pay a fair share of taxes, to stop spewing planet-killing CO2 gases, and for some accountability for the private jet culture that enabled the Epstein scandal and its myriad rich and powerful participants,” said Chuck Collins, director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies.
From October 23-26, Data for Progress surveyed a national sample of likely U.S. voters on attitudes about private jets and the private jet industry, which has surged since the pandemic. Private jets and charter services account for roughly 16% of FAA-handled flight operations and 7% of airspace activity, yet contribute less than 0.6% of the taxes flowing into the Airport and Airway Trust Fund that helps finance FAA operations, according to The High Cost of Private Jet Excess report from IPS. Full poll results are available from Data for Progress.
Key poll findings include:
- 72% of voters support cracking down on tax evasion by private jet owners (an issue the private jet lobby is fighting in Congress right now through the ALERT Act, a bipartisan airline safety bill).
- 69% want more airport fees for private jets to improve airport infrastructure.
- A vast majority of respondents have a positive opinion of private jet use for medical transport and disaster relief and 50% support jets for sports teams, but over half of respondents have a negative opinion of jet setting for celebrities (51%), politicians going to campaign events (53%), big tech execs (54%), and ICE deportation flights (55%). 62% oppose flying children of billionaires to summer camp in private jets.
- The most concerning aspects of private jet travel for respondents are:
- The current tax system forces average commercial flyers to subsidize wealthy private jet owners
- Private jets contribute significantly to climate pollution (they emit 10-14 times more CO2 per passenger than commercial flights, per the IPS report).
- Private jets helped billionaires like Jeffrey Epstein break the law and abuse children for decades.
“Americans have made it clear that they’re fed up with the rising cost of living, and this survey shows they have little patience for wealthy elites who evade taxes on their private jets,” said Grace Adcox, Senior Climate Strategist at Data for Progress. “Voters strongly support new regulations on the private jet industry, including taxes to offset the climate impact of private jet emissions. They also disapprove of political candidates using private jets on the campaign trail by a 21-point margin, and that margin is nearly twice as large among Independents.”
Private jets on the campaign trail have been electoral issues in the Georgia and Ohio governors campaigns and in the Nebraska Senate race.
Finally, the Institute for Policy Studies, which hosts Tax Private Jets, has a new report out on the hidden costs of private jet travel: The median wealth of a private jet owner is $190 million, while the median wealth of a fractional owner of a private jet is $140 million. Private jet operations and greenhouse gas emissions in two U.S. states alone, Florida and Texas, are greater than the 27 member countries of the European Union combined. See the report for more facts on the private jet industry.
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