August 4, 2008

British Airline Passengers’ Green Taxes Exceed Carbon Costs

In its Emissions Cost Assessment recently released, the British government admits airline passengers now pay more in green taxes than is needed to cover the cost of environmental damage they cause, the Telegraph reports.

The Department for Transport says airlines now pay about £100 million more than its environmental costs a year as a result of the doubling of Air Passenger Duty last year, adding around £1.50 more per ticket.

Last year, British Chancellor Alistair Darling, announced plans to replace a per passenger tax with a per flight tax, called Aviation Duty from Nov. 1, 2009. Now the government is looking to raise an additional £500 million from airline passengers, which would mean a further 10 percent increase in the new Aviation Duty. This could mean the airline industry will be paying £3.6 billion in tax by 2012, according to experts.

On top of that, the European Union is planning to enforce its Emissions Trading System, which would require companies to buy carbon permits for GHG emissions over their set limit, this could add around £11 to an individual return ticket.

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