A call for “A Fair Tax on Flying” in the UK

It has emerged that the leading names in the UK travel and tourism industry are uniting for the first time behind a campaign calling for a Fair Tax on Flying from the UK Government.

The campaign is calling on the Government to halt any further rises in aviation tax, with revenue from Air Passenger Duty (APD) having increased by 2600 percent since it was first introduced in 1994.

This year £2.2 billion of holidaymakers’ and business travellers’ money will pour into the Treasury’s coffers, it is being said. The Government has stated that it intends to raise the tax by a further £1.4 billion by 2015.

The Fair Tax on Flying  (www.facebook.com/afairtaxonflying) campaign is an alliance of more than 30 airlines, airports, tour operators, destinations and trade associations who are uniting to call on the Government to make the system of aviation tax in the UK fairer.

 

The alliance have set five tests that they are asking the Government to take into account as they review the overall structure or level of aviation tax:

1.  Will any revision increase the overall amount travellers pay to fly to and from the UK?

2.  Will any change be designed to be offset by the income from the UK’s inclusion in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)?

3.  Will a new approach remove the unfairness that travellers buying a premium economy ticket for a few extra inches of legroom are classed the same as first class travellers and pay double the rate of tax?

4.  Will any new policy address concerns that defining bands by national capital cities creates unhelpful exceptions that are unfair to passengers and damage destinations?

5.  Has the policy’s impact on destinations, trade and tourism been adequately understood and considered?

Mark Tanzer, ABTA, Chief Executive said that when it comes to the future of tourism in the UK, the Government’s words and deeds simply do not match up. 

“The Prime Minister has identified tourism as one of the top five industries to drive growth, yet aviation tax has become a punitive stealth tax. It is vital that the Government understands the impact it is having on the health of the tourism industry in the UK,” said Tanzer. 

He added that the industry is willing to pay its way, but a 26-fold increase since 1994 puts the UK at a competitive disadvantage when compared with European neighbours and “punishes UK holidaymakers and business travellers unfairly”. 

Air passenger numbers have decreased by 22 percent since 2007 when the tax was last increased, and increasing it yet further will cause significant strain on hard-pressed family budgets and hamper the UK economy’s growth, stated ABTA.

Fair Tax on Flying campaign members include: ABTA, ANTOR, AOA, British Airways, BAA, BAR UK, BATA, BMI, Bristol Airport, ETOA, Expedia, Gatwick Airport, Jet2, Lastminute.com, Leeds Bradford Airport, London City Airport, Luton Airport, Manchester Airport Group, Manston Airport, Monarch, Newcastle Airport, The Caribbean Council, The co-operative travel, Thomas Cook, Tourism Alliance, TUI Travel PLC, ukinbound, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays.

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