Call to scrap air passenger duty as total tax-take rises to £3.17bn
TRAVELLERS paid more than £3 billion in air passenger duty (APD) last year, according to official figures.
The total of £3.17bn for the airport departure tax for 2014/15 was 5.2 per cent more than in 2013/14, the HM Revenue and Customs’ statistics highlighted by airline body the British Air Transport Association (Bata) showed.
The figures published yesterday fuelled calls for the duty to be scrapped.
The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates the take from APD will rise by a further £500 million during the next Parliament despite the tax being abolished for under-12s from this Friday and from under-16s from March 2016.
APD is to be devolved to Scotland under the Smith Commission recommendations and the Scottish Government has indicated it wants to see the tax, which can range from £13 per flight for travel in the UK to up to £194 for long haul journeys, cut by half.
Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways’ parent company IAG, said: “Passengers paid £3.17bn in APD in 2014/15 – an increase of 824 per cent since its first full year in 1995/96. Over the same period inflation rose by just 82 per cent.
“This tax is completely out of control. It is the highest aviation tax in the world and it damages economic growth and jobs. No wonder the Scottish Government wants to abolish it. APD should be scrapped UK wide.”
The British Air Transport Association said that by 2019/20, APD was forecast to raise £3.7bn a year– more than beer and cider duties (£3.6bn) and the TV licence fee (£3.3bn). Some 106 million passengers paid the duty last year.