Union leaders back Journal’s Tax Too Far Campaign

Sep 30 2009 by Adam Jupp, The Journal

UNION leaders have backed The Journal’s call to scrap planned rises in aviation taxes.

We are urging the Government not to hike Air Passenger Duty (APD) in November and again next year because of the potentially devastating impact it will have on the North East economy.

It is feared the rises, which are passed on to flyers, could lead to vital routes in and out of the region being pulled as customers are priced out of the market.

That in turn would see jobs lost and, in the worst case scenario, could lead to firms being forced to relocate because of their lost connectivity.

Downing Street claims APD, which was already doubled in 2007, is a green tax designed to mitigate aviation’s impact on the environment.

But that is dismissed by critics, who say the industry already offsets its carbon footprint, while the UK is set to enter the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in 2012, which is also designed to compensate for the environmental impact.

Now unions say it is still possible to find a way for air travel to cover the cost of its pollution while not placing regions like the North East at a competitive disadvantage.

TUC regional secretary Kevin Rowan said: “We are very conscious that we need to manage the response to climate change and environmental issues better than we have been.

“We welcome a lot of the Government’s initiatives but I think, as Ed Miliband said at the TUC conference, we need to do that in a way that does not damage industry and economic prosperity.

“We think the airports are a key part of the region’s economic future, so clearly we want the Government to consider this tax proposal and have a look at it in a way that will ensure it does not in any way damage the airports and the international communications of the region.”