Will APD tax be spent on environment?

Following last week’s announcement that APD (Air Passenger Duty) will be charged per flight, airlines are asking the government whether the tax raised will be used for environmental measures.

“There is no evidence to suggest that APD has been used to fund environmental initiatives and there will be no guarantee that a flight-based tax will either. Our share of APD revenue is now £400m a year. With this money the Government could offset our entire carbon emissions four times over,” says a BA spokesman.

APD Airport Tax

Ryanair is also critical of the government's position on APD: “Not a penny has been spent on the environment and they are back taking more from ordinary passengers going on holidays,” comments a spokesman.

So far the government has declined to give details on how the revenue from APD, which it is estimated will amount to over £2 billion next year, will be spent. Instead it has stated that APD goes into a general tax pool and is not directly allocated to the environment.

Charging APD per flight rather than per passenger has been welcomed by airlines and environmental groups as it will encourage newer, cleaner planes with lower carbon emissions. However, uncertainty about how the tax is to be spent is bound to prompt further debate.

Written by: Nick Purdom

 

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Will APD Tax Be Spent On Environment?