378
Thomas, J., dissenting
Section 1513(b) confirms that § 1513(a) is concerned with the basis on which the tax or charge is calculated. Property taxes, net income taxes, and franchise taxes are not imposed on one of the bases prohibited in § 1513(a), and as explained above, are not included in § 1513(a). Because the same language in § 1513(a) restricts taxes as well as fees and other charges, it seems logical that the fees referred to in § 1513(b), which also are not generally calculated on the bases listed in § 1513(a), are similarly beyond § 1513(a)'s prohibition.
Section 1513(b)'s reference to "reasonable" charges, then, does not impose a requirement that all airport user fees be "reasonable." Instead, it simply makes clear that state and local governments remain free to impose charges other than those proscribed by § 1513(a). Cf. Aloha Airlines, 464 U. S., at 12, n. 6 ("Section 1513(a) pre-empts a limited number of state taxes, . . . [and] [§]1513(b) clarifies Congress' view that the States are still free to impose on airlines and air carriers 'taxes other than those enumerated in subsection (a)' "). That is not to say that the term "reasonable" is superfluous. Had the Act made unqualified reference to landing fees and other user fees, it might have been read as an indication of congressional intent to authorize fees or charges that would otherwise be invalid under the dormant Commerce Clause. See Maine v. Taylor, 477 U. S. 131, 139 (1986). An unqualified reference might have also been understood to permit landing fees and other fees calculated on one of the bases prohibited by § 1513(a). See n. 1, supra. By including the term "reasonable," Congress ensured that the Act would not
is a charge on the carriage of passengers traveling in air commerce within the meaning of § 1513(a). A landing fee is not such a prohibited charge where it is based merely on the weight of an airplane, as here. See App. 194 (Plaintiffs' Trial Exh. 6: Fees for the Use of Public Aircraft Facilities and Rental for Passenger Terminal Premises, Kent County International Airport, Three Years Beginning Jan. 1, 1987 (Dec. 31, 1986)). Similarly, neither a rental fee based on square footage, see ibid., nor a carrying charge based on the depreciation of an asset, see App. 68-70 (trial testimony of Richard K. Dompke), is such a prohibited charge.
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