Earlier this month, officials and heads of the UK travel industry announced that it was joining ABTA’s Fair Tax on Flying campaign. The campaign has been presented to the Chancellor, George Osborne, ahead of the March budget. The campaign that calls for the Government to stop rises in aviation tax in the UK, in line with other European countries that have stopped similar taxes. Other such European countries have stopped aviation tax increases in a bid to avoid any further negative impact on their own travel industry in difficult economic times. So why not the UK? It seems the UK Government is hell bent on continually slapping taxes on the travel industry. Yet, it seems somewhat contradictory given that in actual fact, Prime Minister, David Cameron, said that the travel industry was highlighted as one of five top industries for growth. Yet, surely, in a bid to make more of us travel; whether business or pleasure, surely constant increases in taxes, not to mention fares on the increase due to soaring fuel prices; this will actually deter would-be passengers to travel instead of encouraging them. Thus, having a negative effect on the industry as less and less of us travel. Where will the growth come from then if we avoid travelling as much, or at all? It is very worrying when, in recent months the travel industry has seen a real boom in travel, after several years of airlines going bust left, right and centre and passengers being stranded at home and abroad. A genuine growth has been reported by major and provincial airports across the country, as well as many UK airlines reporting passenger increases. Any unfair tax increases threaten this long awaited growth. First introduced in 1994, Air Passenger Duty has risen by a staggering 2600%! These increases far outweigh those increases in other European countries. From this tax, the Government will expect to raise a staggering 2.2 billion in 2011. If this is not enough, by introducing yet more increases, by 2015 the Government expect to raise an additional 1.4 billion, taking the total of air travellers’ taxes to over 3.6 billion a year! The differences in tax values have been calculated and the price differences for UK travellers verse those travelling in European are hugely, and unfairly many think, different. The Fair Tax on Flying campaign has identified that a UK family of four flying to Florida will pay aviation tax of 240! If the same family flew to Australia they would be slapped with a whooping 340 in tax. However, our French counterparts would pay a mere 15 to each of these destinations, whilst an Irish family would pay a minimal 11. As the travel industry holds its breathe until the budget, we all have to hope that the Government will give the travel industry a break. Not just to recover and successfully claw back to recovery but also to be allowed to grow, as Mr Cameron predicts and of course wants! Sometimes Mr Prime Minister you have to make less profit per purchase to ultimately make more purchases, that then equates to more overall profit. Not more profit, yet less sales! Fingers crossed...
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