Bill 283 of 2025, known as the Financing Law, proposes a substantial increase in the carbon tax rate applied to aviation fuel. According to the IATA Colombia bulletin corresponding to September 2025, The measure could translate into an increase in the price of domestic air tickets, with effects on national connectivity and tourism. The union warns that the tax impact would fall on the entire air transport value chain, a sector that represents a key component of the national economy.
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According to IATA information, tourism generates 2.1% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The proposals included in the project would directly affect this industry, which has already experienced a 19% decrease in the number of passengers transported domestically. during the first half of 2025 compared to the same period of the previous year. The association maintains that, if the tax increases are approvedthis decline could intensify.
The planned increase in the carbon tax reaches 108%, a variation that, according to IATA, would have a strong impact on airline operating costs and the final value of tickets. Currently, 28.4% of the price of a domestic ticket corresponds to fees, taxes and charges. With the reform, this proportion would increase significantly, making access to air transport more expensive for a vast majority of users.
The document states that 75% of passengers who use flights within Colombia belong to strata 2 and 3, according to data from the TGI study. For IATA, the air service has allowed a democratization of mobility in the country. However, an additional increase in the tax burden could reverse that process.
“The increase in the carbon tax on aviation fuel, as proposed by this reform, would have a strong impact on the tax burden of air transportation, which will inevitably impact the price of tickets. This measure discourages the use of this method of transportation, which is essential to promote tourism and the economy in general. The increase in costs would limit access for strata 2 and 3 of Colombian society, which goes against essential policies. of the National Government and would stop in its tracks the growth and good dynamics of tourism, as well as that of the sectors that are part of the chain,” declared Paula Bernal, Country Manager of IATA Colombia.
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Elimination of exemptions would affect incoming tourism
In addition to the increase in the carbon tax, IATA warns about the effects that the elimination of VAT exemptions on tourist services for foreigners would have. Article 95 of the bill contemplates eliminating this benefit, which would raise the prices of receptive tourism packages by nearly 20%.. According to the union, this modification would make Colombia less competitive compared to other destinations in the region such as Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and Peru.
IATA estimates that the increase in package tours for international visitors could reach 3.8%. This adjustment, added to the possible increase in domestic tickets, would affect both the arrival of tourists and the internal mobility of travelers. The measure would have a transversal impact on hotels, travel agencies, tour operators and airlines, sectors that depend on the balance between affordable prices and competitiveness compared to other regional markets.
The organization remembers that tourism not only drives direct employment, but also related services such as land transportation, gastronomy and commerce. In this context, a higher tax burden on aviation and tourist services could have repercussions on the economy as a whole. According to DANE data, any reduction in tourism demand could alter the sector’s GDP projections for the end of 2025.
Although the purpose of the carbon tax is to promote sustainability, the current proposal does not provide incentives for investment in clean energy or mechanisms to support local production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), they point out. Consequently, The sector’s ability to offset its CO₂ emissions and advance the energy transition would be limited.
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The reform does not contemplate mechanisms for the energy transition of the airline sector
The IATA warns that the carbon tax, as proposed in the draft Financing Law, does not include specific provisions to accelerate the transition to sustainable fuels. The text does not provide incentives for the local production of SAF nor does it contemplate measures that stimulate investment in emissions reduction or compensation projects. Currently, the carbon tax offset remains at 50%, but the new law proposes reducing it to 30%. In previous years, this percentage was as high as 100%. According to IATA, this decrease would limit investment in conservation, reforestation and renewable energy projects, essential to meet environmental objectives.
Fuel costs represent 30.3% of the total air operation in Colombia, according to data from Civil Aeronautics for the second half of 2024. At a global level, this proportion is 25.8%. The increase in the carbon tax on aviation fuel would increase logistics costs and, consequently, the ticket prices. IATA specifies that about 30% of the fuel is transported in tank trucks from the north of the country to the center, while the remaining 70% is moved from storage terminals to airports, which generates additional costs in transportation and distribution.
At the international level, IATA notes that several countries that have implemented similar green taxes have failed to demonstrate concrete environmental benefits or significant progress in reducing CO₂ emissions in the sector. In the Colombian case, the union maintains that the current design of the tax does not guarantee an effective contribution to the energy transition, but could slow down the investments necessary to develop it.
In Colombia, the Roadmap for the development of SAF is in the initial stage. IATA points out that this process could still take several years to consolidate, which requires long-term policies and fiscal stimuli that facilitate its implementation.
PAULA GALEANO BALAGUERA
Portfolio Journalist
