Posted on 04/24/2008 8:20:12 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Plans to overhaul tax paid by airline passengers could add £170 to the cost of a long-haul holiday for a family of four, airlines have warned.
They said that Treasury proposals to raise charges on environmental grounds could make overseas travel an increasingly costly luxury.
Passengers who have to change planes to complete their journey would be worst hit, because the Government wants to impose a tax on every flight to discourage planes from flying half-empty.
Under the present system of Air Passenger Duty, somebody changing planes at a hub airport such as Heathrow pays a single tax on the whole journey.
The new system would mean passengers being taxed on both the connecting flight to a major airport and the one they take to their destination.
It could lead to substantial rises, according to calculations by the British Air Transport Association.
At present, a family of four would pay £160 in tax to fly from Newcastle to New York via Heathrow. Under the new proposals, they would pay about £250 for the round trip between Heathrow and New York.
On top of that they would have to pay tax on the flights to and from Newcastle, which could add another £80 to the trip.
The Government expects to raise £3.5 billion from air passengers in 2011-12, compared to £971 million in 2006-07.
Under a consultation that ended yesterday, it proposed charging airlines according to the weight of the aircraft and how far it flew.
The Treasury has proposed three bands: travel within most of Europe, flights of up to 3,000 miles and those of more than 3,000 miles.
British airlines fear that the changes could lead to millions of passengers taking their business abroad, choosing to change planes at continental hubs such as Amsterdam or Frankfurt rather than London.
Somebody flying from Edinburgh to New York via London would, under the proposed system, pay £60 in aviation duty. But the same passenger would pay only £10 if the trip was made via the Continent.
"This is yet another example of the Government making controversial decisions on tax policy and failing to think through and appreciate the consequences for the UK public and economy," said Roger Wiltshire, of the British Air Transport Association.
British Airways warned that the plans could lead to provincial services being cut.
"Lower numbers of transfer passengers would lead to some long-haul routes becoming unviable, reducing the range of direct flights for UK customers," a BA spokesman said.
For a second there I thought they were going to tax air (as in what we breathe). We’re not quite at that point (yet).
Does it please you?
An air tax? I guess the saying “free as air” no longer applies
This tax is just a money grab by the left. This tax is not going to have any impact on CO2 emissions except to reduce air travel. To reach the impossible dream of drastic CO2 reductions, international air travel will become a once in a lifetime experience. We can just shut down 80% of the airline, aircraft, and tourist industries. I guess we can employ those workers in building or servicing the politically correct green industries (wind mills, solar panels, and hybrid cars).

As a retired writer/editor, that's just what I initially thought also.
The headlines today are atrocious.
It should, of course, read: "...airline or air fare tax
No. Its a shame Algor has hijacked this issue and has become the face of climate-change.
My own concerns are just these:
I think we all agree we are NOT for polluting planet like dumping chemicals in rivers that catch fire.
As far as Global Warming, I want us to make sure that if Polar Caps and Greenland Ice Sheet is melting, it is not due to OUR actions and natural phenomenon.
I think most reasonable minds would agree that if Caps melt, we could have coastal areas go under water and that would not be a small thing.
Also, we should push for Nuclear Energy, like France, that gets more than 80% of its Electricity from Nuclear Energy. We don’t need to be dependent on Oil that finance our enemies and pollutes the enviorment.
I would also like to know definite research on whether releasing CO2 in massive amounts in atmosphere is causing the GW effect.
I care about protecting rare animals. Don’t want to wipe out all the forests. Manage them respectfully. That’s all.
Not if you think of it in context with what the author implies in the article.
Ultimately, the GreenieFascists will tax air. Humans expel CO2.
Ultimately the Commies want no taxes. They will just give everyone what they need. They will, eventually, decide who gets to breathe air.
This is in the headline.
yitbos
bump
In the U.S. we have brilliant thinking like this.
—
To stay solvent, the U.S. post office continues to raise the cost of mailing a letter since so many people use e-mail because regular mail is slow and costly.
Yeah, that’ll work.
These leftwing loons are just chomping at the bit to start implementing “carbon taxes on everything all over the world, aren’t they.
They never explain how this tax is going to reduce global warming, lower the ‘evil carbon’ output of jet engines, cars etc.
As far as I can see, it doesn’t. In Vancouver for example, the carbon tax on gasoline has been used to pay teachers more, pay striking garbage men more, pay for more drug addicts free needles and shooting up spots. Maybe that reduces “evil carbon” somehow, but I’m just too dumb to see it...
Greenland and the Arctic land masses have been ice free before, were lush and tropical in fact. there is no evidence that coastal regions were underwater at that time. In fact the only time they were was when the ice sheet in more recent times covered most of North America, causing vertical continental drift. (depression into the mantle).


At some point, if clear-thinking people act, these crooks will be met with mob reprisals.
Ice floating on water or water suspended if melted would increase the level of the sea? Somehow Archimedes must be spinning in his grave. I could see landborne ice melting possibly causing a problem if wholesale, but liberal ecologic is beyond me.
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