We are leaving for Paris on Sunday and a friend of ours told us that at the airport we had to pay 60E each...some sort of tax. Then another friend told us they did not have to.
Did the first couple get scammed or is there really a tax for tourist upon entering France?
Thanks for your help.

We never paid a tax upon entering any country. Ask your friend what was the tax he paid.

No tax.

Some countries levy a departure tax on departing internatoinal flights. While the tax is usually included in the price you pay for the ticket, some countries (mostly in Asia like Thailand) actually make you pay in cash before you are permitted to go through emigration and board your flight. I have not encountered this in France, however. I would be curious to hear more abou this.

Hi,

The tax is part of your airfare. You don't have to pay anything upon arrival.

Petula,

The first couple may have had one drink too many on their flight - there is NO such "tax" and no plausible place where they could have gotten "scammed" at the airport!

Hope this helps,
Andre

What you are probably referring to is otherwise known as a "facility useage tax"...they are often levied on both departures and arrivals and believe me, they are NOT a figment of someone's imagination..they are very REAL and in place at many airports, including those in the US. Generally, this tax if you want to call it that is included in the cost of the airfare and people don't even notice it. In my experience, the one time I had to pay it out of pocket was when I left Cancun several years ago. Ordinarily you do not pay these fees out of pocket.

Don't get me wrong - indeed all airports levy a passenger facility tax - it's just included in "taxes & fees" on your ticket. In my experience, you only have to pony up cash at the airport in less developed countries (last time I had to do this was upon departure at Belgrade).

I know for a fact that this hasn't been the case in Paris for decades.

Andre