The alliance behind the ‘Fair Tax on Flying’ campaign is calling on Chancellor George Osborne to follow the lead of Ireland’s government in scrapping Air Passenger Duty (APD). The move by the Irish came after the Dutch, Danish, Maltese and Swedish governments axed their aviation taxes as well.
The new Irish government has pledged to ax their aviation tax, which is €3. The governments have been discovering that their economies have been damaged by the levies. They have also highlighted that having more passenger routes has major economic benefits.
Now there are only 4 European counties that tax air passengers, and the UK is one of them. The ‘Fair Tax on Flying’ campaign is now urging the government to reconsider their policy on APD, which they say threatens to repress the economic growth of tourism.
Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) chief executive Mark Tanzer says that the Irish government is the latest to see that taxing air travelers is counter-productive, as any revenue raised from the duty is outweighed by the damage done to the wider economy. The campaign is calling on the Chancellor to follow the lead and not increase APD even higher, he added, especially if they intend to help tourism and travel flourish and grow.
The ‘Fair Tax on Flying’ alliance consists of more than 30 travel organizations since launching earlier this month. Included in the alliance are airports, airlines, destinations and trade associations. They have created a Facebook page to increase awareness of the tax and to allow users to submit their views on the matter.
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