£30 increase in Global Warming Tax today.

[Paddy]

£30 increase in Global Warming Tax today.

Air Passenger Duty on long haul journeys over 6,000 miles up from £80 to £110. The government has cited environmental reasons for the rise.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8336373.stm


Passengers can avoid paying tax on the whole journey by changing planes on the Continent, where the tax does not apply. Alternatively get the Eurostar to Brussels to fly from there paying no tax.

[DimPrawn]

Eco Terrorist!

[Fred Bloggs]

This is yet another nail in the coffin of UK airports no longer acting as global hubs for long haul carriers. If this carries on then there will be almost no flights outside of the EU from the UK. I feel for BA and Virgin whose businesses are being undermined like this. I bet the Dutch, French, Belgians, Germans are rubbing their hands at this. How can it possibly be "green" to first of all fly east to Amsterdam or Frankfurt to then go west to Florida/California/South America etc... Thousands of folk will be doing this every day.

[d000hg]

So they should lower tax on the shortest routes? Interesting.

[MrMark]

£30 increase in Global Warming Tax today.

Air Passenger Duty on long haul journeys over 6,000 miles up from £80 to £110. The government has cited environmental reasons for the rise.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8336373.stm


Passengers can avoid paying tax on the whole journey by changing planes on the Continent, where the tax does not apply. Alternatively get the Eurostar to Brussels to fly from there paying no tax.

Not sure this workaround will last for long (and surely adding a few hours to the journey time and the Eurostar fare will mean you don't save the £110 cost?). Our government may be world leaders at introducing stealth taxes, but it won't be long before other countries copy this way of increasing revenue. A fairly easy way of increasing tax without hitting genuine poor (who can't afford long haul trips anyway) whilst promoting it as a way of addressing environmental concerns.... A bit of a government no-brainer really. Will the money raised really help stop climate change? Of course not.

[AtW]

They should tax short haul flights heavily instead - this will push folks to trains etc.

Taxing long haul is pointless - there is no viable quick way to get to USA otherwise: this is revenue stream, not tax designed to change behavior.

[TimberWolf]

The most fuel efficient means of airtravel is to refuel every 5000 miles or so, apparently, because this distance optimises the cost of carrying fuel (perhaps 40% of take-off weight) versus the cost of reaching cruising height again. Doing so would likely increase costs for airlines though, in lost time and from ditching in the ocean and sinking to the bottom on some routes.

[Board Game Geek]

Hello ?

Boats !

Not the smelly, nasty ones that use petrol or whatever it is they use to drive engines, but the windy-type ones.

And the "yes but they are slow" argument is not allowed.

[Billy-Bob]

Is the tax used to grow trees?

[DimPrawn]

Is the tax used to grow trees?

Yes, Gordon is growing money trees as we speak.