Holiday tax: Families to face £10 flying tax on their Easter breaks
Millions of British holidaymakers and businessmen will be hit with a “stealth” tax rise on their long-haul flights in April - just in time for the Easter break.
Air Passenger Duty is to increase for the second time since the Tories won re-election in 2015, rising by 2.5 per cent in line with inflation.
Standard tickets for flights longer than 2,000 miles will increase by £2 each while more the cost of more premium seats will rise by £4.
It means that a family of four flying to America after April 1 will be paying up to £16 more for their holiday.
Campaigners representing industry have calculated that the Treasury will be taking in £108 million more a year than in 2015.
Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, is under pressure to act amid anger that Britain is estimated to pay higher passenger tax to the Government than any other developed country.
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said: "Millions of families who are planning their well-earned holidays will be hit by the Government's stealth tax rise on air passenger duty in April.
"British holidaymakers already pay the highest level of tax on long haul flights anywhere in the world and this will only make it more expensive for them to take the break they deserve.
"The Government has promised to help just managing families - cutting air passenger duty by 50 per cent would do just that - so we urge the Chancellor to address this at Budget."
Air Passenger Duty is levied by central Government. The amount charged on short-haul flights is not increasing but journeys longer than 2,000 miles will see a rise.
The tax on the cheapest tickets will rise from £73 to £75 and on more premium tickets from £146 to £150.
Since it was introduced in 1994, the tax has increased more than eight fold. It is now estimated to be higher than any other comparable airport tax in the world.
Millions of families who are planning their well-earned holidays will be hit by the Government's stealth tax rise on air passenger duty in April
Tim Alderslade
In a separate development, Labour will attempt to heap pressure on the Chancellor over a Tory business rates rebellion ahead of his Budget next month.
The party has announced a “five point plan to help business survive the revaluation” which will see rate increases for around half a million shops and companies in April.
Among the proposals is a new “emergency transitional relief fund” for those worst affected and a more regular series of re-evaluations to limit “cliff-edge” increases.
Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour’s shadow business secretary, said: “From delaying the revaluation to their failure to put adequate transitional arrangements in place, the Government have mishandled this whole process, and should provide immediate emergency relief to stop thousands of businesses going under.
"But the reality is that business rates are a ticking time bomb. It cannot be right for smaller, town centre retailers to be facing massive hikes while the Amazons and ASOS’s of this world have their business rates cut.”
"Government figures have defended the rates changes by noting that most companies will not see an increase, but has agreed to do more to help those worst affected."
