Government’s tax on flying is defended
Mar 4 2010 by William Green, The Journal
MINISTERS yesterday defended a controversial “green” tax on flying despite admitting they could not say what the environmental impact of aviation is.
Business chiefs and politicians have already backed The Journal’s A Tax Too Far campaign warning that Air Passenger Duty (APD) risks future economic growth because it forces up ticket prices and could make key air routes unviable.
But the Government yesterday issued a strong defence of APD despite confirming it was about raising money for the cash-strapped Chancellor rather than dealing with the impact of emissions as previously signalled.
But it admitted it was impossible to give an “accurate estimate” of the climate change costs of aviation because of “considerable uncertainties” with the data.
The defence came in response to a Commons Transport Committee report that raised serious concerns about APD with the Government last December.
“It also needs to be mindful of the state of the aviation industry in the current economic recession and to take account of competition from other European airports,” said the committee’s report.
In its official response, the Government said: “Air Passenger Duty is a revenue-raising instrument, and is not intended or designed to be an exact match for the environmental and social costs from aviation.
