US carrier's tax gripe bared in leaked document.

Byline: Kathleen A. Martin

AN AMERICAN airline has apparently taken issue with the Philippines' common carrier tax, although preferring instead to have the United States embassy speak on its behalf, diplomatic cables released last week by WikiLeaks showed.

Northwest Airlines Corp., which has been bought out by Delta Air Lines, Inc. in 2010, had been seeking help from authorities to abolish the taxes levied on foreign carriers, the US embassy appeared to have reported to Washington in the leaked communique dated Dec. 11, 2008.

The tax is imposed on revenues from outbound passengers and cargo whether or not the tickets were sold in the Philippines.

…