www.Parctel.com: The Chancellor’s decision not to impose further taxes on air travel has been welcomed by the Managing Director of Durham Tees Valley Airport as ‘good news for the industry, our customers—and the economy as a whole.’
Hugh Lang was speaking after Gordon Brown announced in his Budget speech that he would not be putting VAT on airlines tickets—a move which would have sent prices rising by 17.5 per cent—because he said the idea had ‘not been properly thought through.’
The Chancellor pointed out that such a move could only have applied to domestic flights, businesses would have been able to claim back the VAT and it would have produced only a small reduction in carbon emissions.
Said Hugh Lang “Clearly, if the Chancellor had paid attention to those voices calling for yet more taxation on the airline industry, it would have had a major impact on UK airports and our customers.
“Given that the whole of the industry is still absorbing the impact of the recent doubling in the level of Airport Passenger Duty, the imposition of VAT would have caused us significant difficulties.
“On this occasion the Chancellor appears to have recognised that such a move, whilst hitting a very important industry and increasing costs for millions of passengers, would have achieved very little in environmental terms.
“Everyone in the air transport industry is anxious to make a positive and constructive role to the environmental challenges we face, but simply imposing ever-increasing taxes is not the answer.”
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