Increased air passenger duty will not deter the traveller

Citation

(2008), "Increased air passenger duty will not deter the traveller", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 80 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2008.12780aaf.010

Increased air passenger duty will not deter the traveller

Increased air passenger duty will not deter the traveller

1 About 78 per cent of people are worried about the environmental damage caused by carbon emissions.

2 About 70 per cent believe that taxing environmentally harmful behaviour will encourage taxpayers to be greener.

3 Yet increases to specific green taxes such as air passenger duty are hugely unpopular.

4 And 95 per cent of people would not change their air travel plans as a result of a £10 increase in air passenger duty.

In spite of the apparent popularity of taxation as a tool to tackle the UK's carbon emissions, support for green taxes is only skin deep, according to research published today by Chartered Accountants Maclntyre Hudson. Whilst the majority of people are strongly supportive of the taxes in principle, most of the specific taxes available, including increased air passenger duty, would be hugely unpopular and, even if introduced, would do little to alter people's behaviour.

The research found that 78 per cent are concerned about the damage to the environment caused by the UK's carbon emissions and 70 per cent think that more green taxes will encourage greener behaviour. Two- thirds believe that green taxes set at a reasonable level are a good idea.

However, when considering specific areas in which green taxes could be used, few would acquiesce to changing their lifestyles, even where rises are quite high. The majority of people also reject the concept of some of the most recognisable green taxes, including more tax on air travel, rises in petrol duty, higher vehicle excise duty, road pricing for motorway travel and increased VAT on domestic fuel bills.

When questioned about possible increases in air passenger duty, 95 per cent state that a further rise of £10 per ticket would make no change to their travel plans. The research found that heavier increases would lead to some reductions in travel patterns.

But with a significant rise of £40 per ticket, 45 per cent would still fly as much as now, and just 15 per cent would make a significant reduction in the number of their flights. Even a penal increase of £80 per ticket would cause under a third (31 per cent) to make significant reductions, with a further 31 per cent cutting some flights and 22 per cent carrying on as normal.

The research also found that any significant rise in air passenger duty is opposed by most people. About 61 per cent believe that there should be no further increases. About 55 per cent would disagree with even a £10 increase. In the case of more substantial increases the number in opposition rises steadily, with 85 per cent opposing an increase at the level of £80 per flight.

Andrew Burnham, principal at Maclntyre Hudson, commented: “It appears that the many politicians jumping on the `green taxation' bandwagon may be barking up the wrong tree. Although the principle of green taxation is widely accepted, when questioned about specific taxes that support rapidly falls away. Unless levied at a penal level, people are unwilling to let taxation change their lifestyles. The belief that green taxes are a way to reduce the country's carbon emissions is sadly misplaced.”

“Before conducting this research, we anticipated that green taxes might be ineffective at low levels and unpopular at higher levels. But we found that, at any reasonable level, further increases would have a remarkable combination of unpopularity and ineffectiveness. The long-held assumption in many areas is that Mr Brown is fully aware that they do not work. If the new Prime Minister introduces green taxation at all, it will be at a level which can raise a bit of revenue under the guise of philanthropy, and low enough to avoid the wrath of the electorate.”

The research also reveals some scepticism in the general support for green taxation. About 80 per cent believe green taxes are legitimate only where the revenue raised is spent directly on environmental improvement, and 74 per cent believe that any increase should be accompanied by reductions in general taxation so that the overall tax burden is not increased.