{"id":602167,"date":"2021-07-25T13:36:20","date_gmt":"2021-07-25T17:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=602167"},"modified":"2021-07-25T13:36:21","modified_gmt":"2021-07-25T17:36:21","slug":"democratic-rep-proposes-space-tourism-tax-days-after-first-private-flights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-rep-proposes-space-tourism-tax-days-after-first-private-flights\/","title":{"rendered":"Democratic Rep Proposes Space Tourism Tax Days After First Private Flights"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocratic-rep-proposes-space-tourism-tax-days-after-first-private-flights%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=602167&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/bezos-2-1-1.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>Days after Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos launched successful tourism flights to space, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) proposed a tax on private space travel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Securing Protections Against Carbon Emissions (SPACE) Tax Act would establish a new excise tax on commercial space flights carrying human passengers for purposes other than scientific research. The tax would be applied in two tiers \u2014 the first for suborbital flights exceeding 50 miles above the Earth\u2019s surface, and the second for orbital flights exceeding 80 miles above the Earth\u2019s surface.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In addition to calling the tourism expeditions a \u201ctax-free holiday for the wealthy,\u201d Blumenauer cited effects upon the climate as a particular area of concern.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blumenauer.house.gov\/media-center\/press-releases\/blumenauer-announces-new-space-tax-proposal\"><span>press release<\/span><\/a><span> from the lawmaker\u2019s office explains:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"20\">\n<p><i><span>As this budding space tourism industry takes shape, Blumenauer is particularly concerned about the environmental impact of sending humans into space, particularly when there is no scientific value associated with the launch. The number of trips to space are expected to increase, with Virgin Galactic planning to eventually launch a shuttle of passengers into space, on average, every 32 hours.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>While proponents of suborbital space flights point to transatlantic flights as having similar carbon footprints, these flights carry significantly more passengers and travel much farther. The result is space launches accounting for an estimated 60-times greater emissions than transatlantic flights on a per-passenger basis, enough to drive a car around the earth and more than twice the carbon budget recommended in the Paris Climate Agreement.&nbsp;<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>\u201cJust as normal Americans pay taxes when they buy airline tickets, billionaires who fly into space to produce nothing of scientific value should do the same, and then some,\u201d Blumenauer explained in the release. \u201cI\u2019m not opposed to this type of space innovation. However, things that are done purely for tourism or entertainment, and that don\u2019t have a scientific purpose, should in turn support the public good.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In response to Blumenauer\u2019s proposal, energy expert and Center for Industrial Progress founder <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/industrialprogress.com\/about\/\"><span>Alex Epstein<\/span><\/a><span> noted that although \u201cthe rise of the commercial space industry is a truly exciting development that we should be celebrating,\u201d policymakers are seeking to \u201cloot this new industry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlexEpstein\/status\/1418609268652007424?s=20\"><span>https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlexEpstein\/status\/1418609268652007424?s=20<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Epstein added that Blumenauer and \u201cother would-be looters of the commercial space industry\u201d are using carbon dioxide emissions as a facade for cracking down on the industry.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe should be getting out of the way of space innovators so that they can bring the benefits of space travel \u2014 including the wonders of space tourism \u2014 to the masses,\u201d he remarked. \u201cI know I certainly would love to be able to afford a trip to space.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Blumenauer is not the only Congressional Democrat to slam billionaires\u2019 space expeditions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/watch-elizabeth-warren-says-jeff-bezos-space-trip-is-financed-by-americans-who-actually-paid-taxes\"><span>The Daily Wire<\/span><\/a><span> reported last month, TMZ cornered Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in Reagan National Airport and asked her \u201cabout the world\u2019s richest man adding himself to the first crewed flight to space for his aerospace company, Blue Origin.\u201d Warren blasted Bezos for allegedly neglecting to pay his taxes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cLook, he\u2019s laughing at every person in America who actually paid taxes,\u201d Warren asserted. \u201cJeff Bezos\u2019 trip to outer space is being financed by all the rest of the U.S. taxpayers who paid their taxes so that Jeff Bezos didn\u2019t have to. And Jeff Bezos kept all his money and used it on his space ticket.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In March, Warren <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/elizabeth-warren-proposes-ultra-millionaire-wealth-tax\"><span>proposed<\/span><\/a><span> an \u201cultra-millionaire\u201d tax that would seize preexisting wealth to finance President Biden\u2019s spending agenda. More recently, Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/democratic-congressman-wants-patriot-tax-for-wealthy-americans\"><span>proposed<\/span><\/a><span> a \u201cPatriot Tax\u201d that would force those with a net worth over $50 million to surrender 2.5% of their wealth to the federal government. Those with a net worth above $100 million would surrender 5%.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i><span>member<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Days after Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos launched successful tourism flights to space, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) proposed a tax on private space travel.The Securing Protections Against Carbon Emissions (SPACE) &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-602167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}