A new report claims The White House is considering giving the travel industry, notably airlines and cruise lines, a tax deferment to help ease the economic hardships caused by the coronavirus.
The virus has played havoc with the industry, as airlines have canceled numerous routes – particularly to the thriving Asian market – and cruises have stopped sailing to dozens of ports. Hotels are losing occupancy; restaurants in popular tourist destinations are less than filled.
Sources told the Washington Post that the Trump administration is considering following in the footsteps of some other countries that have done the same. Italy, for example, announced on Sunday a tax credit for any company that has seen revenue decline by more than a quarter.
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On Friday, the Post reported that White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow confirmed the administration is considering “timely and targeted” federal interventions.
“Perhaps on a large scale, some of the sectors might need some temporary assistance,” Kudlow said on Fox Business. “We don’t want to act prematurely.”
The government intervention would be akin to the bailout to the industry following the Sept. 11 attacks.
“It has a 9/11-like feel,” Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said Thursday on CNBC. He also said that “9/11 wasn’t an economically driven issue for travel. It was more fear, quite frankly, and I think that that’s really what’s manifested this time.”
Left unsaid is how a tax deferment would also benefit President Trump’s travel-related businesses. Though he is no longer the head of The Trump Organization, now run by his two sons, Trump owns numerous hotels and more than a dozen golf courses around the world.