Well as the dust from the UK Autumn budget statement there’s a few things to take away from the statement.
Air Travel
- Air Passenger Duty rises CONFIRMED.
- “Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates will increase from 1 April 2012, as set out at Budget 2011. The Government will also proceed with the extension of APD to flights taken aboard business jets, effective from 1 April 2013. Details will be set out in the Government’s response to the APD consultation on 6 December 2011. As announced on 27 September 2011, APD will be cut for passengers travelling on direct long-haul routes departing from airports in Northern Ireland, effective from 1 November 2011. The direct long-haul rates will fall to the prevailing band A rate of APD. To provide a lasting solution, the Government has launched a parallel process to devolve aspects of APD to the Northern Ireland Assembly. (4, 11)”
- Air Passenger Duty for business jets will hit from 1st April 2013
Rail Travel
- Rail fare/Transport for London rises will be capped at a maximum of 1% above inflation – rather than the 3% that had been expected for one year. This affects regulated fares only.
- Unregulated fares will be subject to price gouging that train companies seem to love to indulge in.
Motoring
- The 5p rise in Fuel Duty that was due to hit in January has been cancelled. Instead the rise will be 3p a litre.This would had hit you at the pump in petrol prices. Although wit the way petrol is taxed in the UK, it would had been another stomach punch
The Full Autumn statement can be viewed at http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/autumn_statement.pdf
I’ll be looking at the numbers that are ugly as hell later with reasons why you should start in Dublin or Paris for your long haul journeys if you need to go to the United Kingdom.
UPDATE:
British Airways, EasyJet, Ryanair and Virgin Atlatic have put out a statement in relation to the APD rise. And they’re not impressed. Carolyn McCall from Easyjet, Willie Walsh from IAG, Michael O’Leary from Ryanair and Steve Ridgway from Virgin Atlantic jointly said:
“In the cause of UK economic recovery, Air Passenger Duty (APD) is an own goal – and the Chancellor has just scored another one. By increasing this tax by double the rate of inflation, he is further deterring inbound tourism and foreign investment, and choking off yet more job opportunities for young people.“
APD has no international parallel and has already cost the UK economy 25,000 jobs – that is what the Government should focus on.
“We call for the Chancellor to commission an independent study of APD’s overall economic value. We have no doubt this would confirm that APD’s negative impact on UK GDP significantly outweighs its revenue benefit for the Treasury.
“This tax must be abolished.”