13 Countries to Tax Airline Tickets for Development Fund, French Diplomat Says

Thirteen countries have committed to creating a new tax on airline tickets to help fund development and the fight against disease in poor nations, a French diplomatic official said Wednesday.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy was meeting with reporters to detail the outcome of a two-day Paris conference of dozens of countries to look for innovative ways to fund development.

Brazil, Cyprus, the Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Norway and Britain have pledged to enact the new tax, a diplomatic official said on condition of anonymity because the minister was about to address the issue.

France and Chili had already committed to the new tax before the conference began, and French President Jacques Chirac has championed the idea - with support from Brazil - for the last four years.

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