Telegraph continues its campaign against APD
2009, and have been encouraging their readers to protest about it ever since.
Now coming up to the election, they hope this will be a voting issue.
the unfairness of taxing someone flying return to Australia would have to pay
an extra £85. Or someone flying to a short haul European destination having to
pay £12 more.
What passengers will have to pay in Air Passenger Duty
Includes: Europe, Algeria, Greenland, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia
Includes: Bermuda, Canada, Egypt, Gambia, Jordan, Oman, Russia (east of Urals),
Syria, UAE, US
Includes: Botswana, Brazil, Caribbean, China, India, Japan, Kenya, Maldives,
Mauritius, Mexico, Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand
Includes: Argentina, Australia, Chile, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore
A
to pay to pollute.
the tax increases strike at the heart of what many Britons work for 48 weeks of
the year: a week or two in the sun. Those sun-kissed beaches on screensavers across
the country are fast becoming a pipe dream.
amount of a few pounds”, “we are only talking about £10”, “relatively small amount
of money” in relation to APD. These are the same parliamentarians whose expense
claims include receipts for 29p bags of Hula Hoops crisps and 99p ice creams.
imposed on flights by airlines, airports and foreign security authorities. According
to Trailfinders, a specialist in tailor-made travel, taxes and charges on flights
to Florida have increased since 2006 from £92 to £215, and on flights to Bangkok
from £80 to £203.
levels of aviation tax in Europe, or the Caribbean is being unduly punished, or
even that those who opt for premium economy are charged as much as those who pay
£3,000-plus to turn left when they board a plane. It is that those who travel
on private jets – perhaps the least environmentally sound form of transport there
is – don’t pay at all.
the UK, estimates that the tax has already cost the economy some £758 million
this year. Last year, Holland followed Belgium in abandoning its equivalent of
APD. The tax had brought in more than €300 million ( £270m) in a year, but the
wider cost to the economy – owing to the increased cost of travelling to Holland
– was estimated at more than €1.2 billion.
David Cameron promised that if he became prime minister he would appoint a dedicated
tourism minister.
really become an election issue? Mark Tanzer, chief executive of Abta, which released
an election wish list earlier this month, certainly thinks so. “Whichever party
wins the election it will have to decide on ATOL reform [whether the scheme should
include flights and other services that are not booked as part of a package],
airport expansion, and changes to the tax regime affecting aviation as well as
addressing climate change and continuing the recovery,” he said.
nine in 10 Britons felt that their annual holiday was still a necessity rather
than a luxury. In the run-up to the election, your local MP might do well to remember
that.
Passenger Duty
30.10.2009 (AirportWatch members’ press release)
aviation industry (2), AirportWatch, the coalition of campaign organisations opposed
to the Government’s airport expansion plans, has released the latest Treasury
figures which show that, even with the increase, aviation continues to receive significant tax-breaks.
by paying no fuel tax and no VAT is up to £10 billion a year (3).
‘The fiscal inequity argument is sound even if you are a climate change sceptic.
It is well known that international agreement would be necessary for any increase
in aviation fuel tax or to impose VAT, but the £10 billion figure shows that airlines
should stop whinging about air passenger duty.’
This distorts the demand for air travel. It also means that all the Department
for Transport’s calculations of the economic benefit of new runways at Heathrow,
Stansted and Gatwick are unreliable. Take away the subsidy and the new runways
would all make a loss".
to people to fly abroad, also increases the tourist deficit – which has been estimated
to mean the loss of around 900,000 UK jobs as people spend their money abroad
instead of in this country (5).
revenues. As Stewart commented: ‘That would be a good simple decision to come out of Copenhagen."
rising to £3.3 billion in
duty and rising economic activity.