Tory Brexiteers demand the Chancellor cuts air passenger duty in half to boost economy
The call, which is backed by the DUP, claims that a £1.5billion cut to the levy will get Britain for when we leave the EU
TORY Brexiteers and the DUP are joining forces to demand the Chancellor slash air passenger duty (APD) in half, the Sun can reveal.
They claim a £1.5billion cut to the “levy on holidays” will get Britain ready for take-off after Brexit.
And Ulster unionists in the DUP will take their demand to the doors of the Treasury in another high profile attack on Theresa May’s Government – which they prop up in the Commons.
Dozens of Tories are believed to support the call.
APD has soared from just £10 in 1994 to £78 on one-way economy ticket for long-haul journeys.
Campaigners claim this can make up nearly a third of the ticket price for some flights to Dubai.
Short haul routes cost an extra £13 in APD in economy.
Writing for The Sun, ex-Tory Cabinet Minister Priti Patel and the DUP’s Sammy Wilson said: “The summer holidays are a distant memory and families across the country will be starting to save up for next year’s trip.
“Yet a big chunk of that cost doesn’t pay for your holiday - it goes straight into the government’s coffers.
“The UK has the highest short and long haul aviation tax anywhere in Europe. Cutting air passenger duty is exactly the kind of policy that Brexit Britain should embrace.”
The Sun Says
BRITAIN has the steepest air tax in Europe.
So it is right that politicians are calling on Philip Hammond to slash air passenger duty in the budget.
Cutting it will make holidays cheaper for families who have been hit by pricier trips because of the weaker Pound.
On long haul flights, there is a £78 tax on an economy ticket. This is a huge leap from 1994 when it was just £10.
There is no environmental justification, it is simply used to fill the Treasury’s coffers. Slashing it will also boost businesses hoping to sell products outside of the EU. It will show Brexit
Britain is an outward-looking, global nation.
We hope you’re listening, Mr Hammond.
“It would make saving for hard-earned holidays easier, and it would also make the UK a more attractive place to come to.
The Chancellor this March launched a review into APD in Northern Ireland as promised in the confidence and supply deal Theresa May struck with the DUP after last year’s Election disaster.
Belfast Airport claims that nearly a million passengers have switched to Dublin in the past year, where the tax was axed in 2014 by Ireland’s then transport minister, current Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
Ms Patel and Mr Wilson said a cut would prove Northern Ireland was “open for business” as well as other regional UK airports.
The total contribution from APD for the Treasury has ballooned from £882 million in 2000 to £3.3 billion – a rise of 260 per cent.
But campaigners claim there is little evidence the money is being used to tackle environmental issues.
Frontier Economics last month claimed more than 60 new airline routes may be added at UK airports if the Government abolished APD altogether.
The think tank claimed an extra 66 routes would become viable, including eight new destinations from Aberdeen, nine from Belfast and seven from Southampton.
James Roberts, political director of the Taxpayers Alliance, said: “Air Passenger Duty manages to fly under most people’s radar, but it has to be one of the most pointless taxes out there.
“There’s no real environmental justification – it’s just a straight up levy on both family holidays and air trade links.”
'Cutting air passenger duty is exactly the kind of policy that Brexit Britain should embrace' – Priti Patel and Sammy Wilson
The summer holidays are a distant memory and families across the country will be starting to save up for next year’s trip. Yet a big chunk of that cost doesn’t pay for your holiday - it goes straight into the government’s coffers.
Buying a ticket for a long-haul flight out of the UK will set you back at least £78 in air passenger duty, a tax levied on all adult flyers from UK airports. So for a family of four flying in economy class, you’d have to fork out £156, on top of whatever the airline is charging as their fare and airport charges.
This is quite the increase from when two rates of either £5 or £10 was introduced in 1994.
Research released last year by A Fair Tax On Flying, which campaigns for a reduction in air passenger duty, shows that this tax makes up 24 per cent of the average cost of a European short-haul ticket.
Looking around, you quickly realise our tax on flying is giving Brits a raw deal. The UK has the highest short and long-haul aviation tax anywhere in Europe. Countries nearby, like Ireland, have abolished their air taxes after seeing the bad effects it had for their economies. Northern Ireland gets hit particularly bad, as holidaymakers head to Dublin to dodge the unnecessary costs.
Flying does have consequences, like emissions and noise for people who live right near airports, but the £3.5 billion it raises pays for those many times over.
Cutting air passenger duty is exactly the kind of policy that Brexit Britain should embrace. It would make saving for those hard-earned holidays easier, and it would also make the UK a more attractive place to come to. It would be a massive boon for Northern Ireland. Tourists and exporters would see that the country is open for business.
Committing to cut air passenger duty in half would be a great message and save flyers millions. That’s why MPs from different parties are supporting this campaign from the TaxPayers’ Alliance and A Fair Tax On Flying. The Chancellor should commit to this in next week’s budget and make saving for holidays that bit easier.
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