"When the federal government wants the public to stop doing or using something, a hefty tax—a so-called "sin tax"—is slapped on to discourage demand. Cigarettes, for example, have an 18.2 percent federal tax, while the federal gasoline tax is 11.5 percent. Hard liquor is taxed at 10.7 percent, and heavy firearms and ammunition have an 11 percent federal tax. A pistol or revolver has a 10 percent federal tax. Beer is taxed at 5 percent, a luxury vehicle at 3 percent. The Feds get 3 percent for your phone service. A ship cruise ticket is taxed 0.3 percent. No federal taxes at all are imposed on bus tickets or on rail tickets. Why does the federal government want people to stop flying when it stands to lose so much tax revenue?"
http://crewroom.alpa.org/alpa/Deskto...ocumentID=1039