Scottish Greens: ‘Slap super rich with £1,000 tax every time they fly in a private jet’
People flying in private jets would be slapped with a £1000 tax every time they fly, to offset climate damage, under Scottish Green plans. The party said the “super tax” could be levied on any private flyer who lands in Scotland – with cash used to fund green policies like public transport schemes. Green climate spokesman Mark Ruskell said just 1% of people cause about 50% of all global flight CO2 emissions. He claimed a private jet super levy could raise some £75 million in revenues for the Scottish Government. Aviation is one of the few policy areas excluded from the SNP and Greens’ power-sharing deal at Holyrood. Now the party is challenging the SNP to use its devolved Air Departure Tax (ADT) to implement the measure. ADT could only be levied on departing flights. Hundreds of private jets land in, and take off from, Scotland every week. “This isn’t people having an annual family holiday to Spain – it’s luxury, often half-empty, and completely unnecessary private flights which are fuelling the burning of our planet… It’s time for us to say their private jets are not welcome in Scotland.”
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‘Slap super rich with £1000 tax every time they fly in a private jet’ say Scottish Greens
The Scottish Greens claimed the policy could raise £75million a year to help offset climate damage from aviation emissions.
By Dan Vevers (Daily Record)
26 JULY 2023
The super-rich would be slapped with a £1000 tax every time they fly in a private jet to offset climate damage under Scottish Green plans.
The party said the “super tax” could be levied on any private flyer who lands in Scotland – with cash used to fund green policies like public transport schemes.
Green climate spokesman Mark Ruskell said just 1% of people cause a whopping 50% of all global flight emissions, the most polluting form of transport.
The MSP added the brutal heatwaves and wildfires gripping Europe highlighted the need for action – with the climate emergency “on our doorstep”.
And he claimed a private jet super levy could raise some £75 million in revenues for the Scottish Government.
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Aviation is one of the few policy areas excluded from the SNP and Greens’ power-sharing deal at Holyrood.Now the party is challenging the Nats to use its devolved Air Departure Tax to implement the measure.
Ruskell told the Record: “We are in a climate emergency. The current deadly heatwaves across Europe and wildfires on our doorstep show how urgently we need to act.
“Aviation is one of the biggest drivers of the crisis, yet hundreds of private jets are landing here in Scotland every single week.
“This isn’t people having an annual family holiday to Spain – it’s luxury, often half-empty, and completely unnecessary private flights which are fuelling the burning of our planet.”
The Mid Scotland and Fife MSP added: “It’s time for us to say their private jets are not welcome in Scotland.
“Scotland should introduce a super-tax on these flights, to urgently cut the number of jets in our sky and ensure that polluters are paying for the damage they are doing.”
Stats from the Civil Aviation Authority for 2022 showed there were more than 10,000 private and 2000 business movements at Scotland’s airports.
Across Europe, private jet carbon emissions have increased by 31 per cent since 2005, with the UK accounting for 19 per cent – more than any other European country.
At present, private jet users are charged the same rate of Air Passenger Duty (APD) as business or first-class passengers.
The SNP administration have previously been criticised for failing to use devolved air tax powers even after the Tory government controversially halved the UK duty for short-haul flights in 2021.
After the policy was announced shortly before COP26 by then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, ex-FM Nicola Sturgeon branded it “the wrong choice”.
However, despite the Scottish Government having had the power to tax flights since 2017, they instead passed on Sunak’s APD cut.
The Holyrood administration’s plans to replace APD with a new devolved Air Departure Tax (ADT) have been held up by EU state aid rules affecting the exemption of flights between the Highlands and islands — deemed vital for connectivity.
On a private jet super tax, the Scottish Government said it “does not currently have the devolved power to introduce this kind of tax without the cooperation of the UK Government”.
A spokeswoman added: “ADT will only be levied on flights that begin at an airport in Scotland.
“Scottish ministers remain fully committed to introducing ADT when a solution to the Highlands and Islands exemption issue has been found. Air connectivity is critical for the Highlands and Islands and the existing exemption must remain in place to protect remote and rural communities.
“The Scottish Government continues to work with the UK Government to find a solution for aviation that remains consistent with Scotland’s climate ambitions.”
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/slap-super-rich-1000-tax-30549382
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See earlier:
100 climate activists block private jets at biggest business aviation sales event in Europe
In Geneva, 100 climate activists supporting Greenpeace, Stay Grounded, Extinction Rebellion, Scientist Rebellion and other climate movement groups from 17 countries have disrupted Europe’s biggest private jet sales fair, the annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE), demanding a ban on private jets. The action follows a series of protests against private jets, including at Amsterdam Schiphol airport and actions as part of the Make Them Pay campaign, in the past months. Activists chained themselves to aircraft gangways and the exhibition entrance in order to keep prospective buyers from entering. The protestors stuck giant tobacco-style health warning labels on the jets marking them as toxic objects and warning that ‘private jets burn our future’, ‘kill our planet’, and ‘fuel inequality’. Sales of private jets are expected to reach their highest ever level this year, and the global fleet of private jets has more than doubled in the last 20 years. Private flights produce about 10 times the CO2 of a commercial flight per passenger kilometre. This sort of CO2 emissions are inequitable, and unjustified environmental damage by the very rich.
Click here to view full story…
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Reply by the government to a question in Parliament, about taxation of private jets.
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2023-07-18.194737.h&s=private+jets#g194737.q0
Air Passenger Duty
Treasury written question – answered on 21 July 2023.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of private jet flights paid the higher rate of Air Passenger Duty in the last ten years; if he will make it his policy to levy the higher rate of Air Passenger Duty on all private jet flights; and if he will make a statement.
John Glen The Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Air Passenger Duty (APD) is the UK’s principal tax on the aviation sector. There are different rates according to a passenger’s class of travel and the distance of their journey. The tax raised £3.18 billion in 2022/23 and its primary objective is to ensure that airlines make a fair contribution to the public finances.
The APD Higher rate applies to larger and more luxurious private and business jets, which are 20 tonnes or more and equipped to carry fewer than 19 passengers. Data on the number of passengers liable for different rates of APD can be found in the APD bulletin on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-passenger-duty-bulletin
Since APD applies on a per-passenger basis, HMRC does not collect information on the number of flights by private and business jets.
As with all taxes, the government keeps APD under review and any changes are announced by the Chancellor at fiscal events.
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