Jacob Rees-Mogg, MP for North East Somerset, is among a group of six West MPs representing constituencies near Bristol Airport who have between them received more than 1,200 emails calling for a cut in the UK’s flight tax.
Close to 100,000 people nationwide have backed the A Fair Tax on Flying campaign which is calling for action on Air Passenger Duty (APD). Mr Rees-Mogg has been contacted by more than 100 constituents urging him to back moves to reduce APD, according to the campaign, which is backed by the leading names in the UK travel and tourism industry, including Bristol Airport.
APD is the highest tax of its kind in the world, more than 8.5 times the European average and twice the amount levied in Germany – itself the second most expensive rate in Europe.
A Fair Tax on Flying says a family of four flying economy from the UK to the US pays £260 in APD while in France the equivalent tax is just £38. On European flights, a British family pays 12 times as much tax as their French counterparts.
The campaign seeks to highlight what is claims is the unfairness of the tax, arguing that it falls on hard-working families when they fly off on their annual holidays.
APD also makes it more expensive for tourists to visit the UK, deters inward investment and increases costs for businesses operating in overseas markets, it says. British Chambers of Commerce says year-on-year increases in APD could curtail economic growth by £1bn by 2015.
Bristol Airport chief executive Officer Robert Sinclair said: “While most other European countries have reduced or scrapped their flight tax, British passengers face ever-increasing costs when travelling on business or taking a well-earned holiday, and inbound visitors are also affected. We have just enjoyed the most successful Olympics in living memory, but unfortunately all those athletes and spectators who helped make it so memorable will have faced a huge tax bill when flying home. This threatens our ability to capitalise on the goodwill and global profile generated by the Games.
“The success of the campaign demonstrates that this is not just an aviation industry issue, but a real concern for the travelling public in the West of England. I hope MPs across the region will take action.”
MPs are being urged to sign a Parliamentary Early Day Motion expressing concern about APD’s financial impact on ordinary families and their ability to fly, and calling on HM Treasury to commission a comprehensive study into the full economic effects of aviation tax in the UK.
