Government ignores calls for APD review
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The UK Government has said it has no plans to review the economic impact of Air Passenger Duty (APD) despite numerous calls from the travel industry and businesses around the world.
After listening to responses from the industry through the Transport Select Committee, the Government said it will overview the entire tax system instead of focusing on specific duties.
Its response said: “The Government has no plans to undertake a review of the economic impact of APD at this point. Rather than examining specific taxes in isolation, Government’s focus is on improving the efficiency and competitiveness of the tax system as a whole in order to achieve its objective of having the most competitive tax system in the G20.”
Lobbying group A Fair Tax on Flying said it was “extremely disappointed” with the announcement after the Transport Select Committee said in May that a study was needed.
A Fair Tax on Flying, which consists of several airline, tourism and business bodies and companies, has called for the tax to be scrapped altogether.
“It is extremely disappointing to see that despite the wealth of evidence suggesting that APD is negatively affecting the UK economy, the Government is still refusing to act. The UK could be even further down the road to recovery if our leaders abandoned their current unwillingness to encourage jobs and growth through reform of this unfair and regressive tax,” said Darren Caplan, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association (AOA).
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