The off-and-on issue of the impact of air passenger tax on the cost of airline tickets has come to a head in the Caribbean.According to Saturday’s online version of Caribbean Journal, Grenada Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell is calling for a ‘broader task force’ to address problems of regional transport in the Caribbean, including the taxation of air tickets.The article stated: “Dr Mitchell, who addressed the CARICOM Heads of Government summit in Port of Spain this week, said a task force “must include a caucus of leaders of business in the region, especially the transportation sector, the airlines and shipping lines, as well as the representatives of trade unions representing workers in the transportation sector.”His quote continued: “Previous attempted debates on transportation have sometimes degenerated into name calling and blame — but as we sit here today, we will come to appreciate that this tactic has not served us well. This summit may want to consider putting in place a broader task force on transportation that will deliver results within six months.”They reported that transportation has been one of the major issues on the agenda for this week’s summit.Dr Mitchell said: “As governments, the time has also come for us to look at our approach to taxation on travel tickets. We must appreciate, that in most instances the taxes are so much more than the basic cost of the tickets, thus driving up the cost of intra-regional travel.”But with more travel options, government would see increased revenue. “We will in the end, increase revenue, even with lower fees, because of the increased volume,” he said.The Caribbean Jounral stated that earlier this month, Dr Mitchell suggested that government air taxes were “stifling the success” of Caribbean air carrier LIAT, in an address to the OECS Summit