It’s only a US$14 fee but it’s angered some Europeans who call it ironic coming from a country that was started in part because of objections to “taxation without representation.”
“This month, an increasing number of members of the European Parliament and other EU officials are blasting the charge for being both incongruous and for running counter to US-EU agreements,” said ABC News.
Said Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, a German member of the European Parliament:
"It seems a bit absurd that the US of all countries would tax people who are not represented in this debate. Taxation without representation, I believe, has played a certain role in American history."
He made the point that the tax, designed to promote tourism, could have the opposite impact of driving would-be visitors to boycott the country.
At issue is the so-called Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), a $14 fee which travelers from 36 countries now have to pay prior to visiting the US. While $4 dollars of the fee is to be for ESTA administrative costs, $10 is to pay for US efforts to promote the US as a tourism destination.
Travelers to the US, in effect, are being asked to pay for the advertising aimed at encouraging them to travel to the country, said ABC
Said European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström:
"I remain convinced that these new requirements … are inconsistent with the commitment of the US to facilitate trans-Atlantic mobility."
By David Wilkening
