European Commission will Review Air Passenger Duty
Tuesday, 3rd March 2009
Syed Kamall, Conservative MEP for London, has learned that the European Commission plans to review Alistair Darlings new rules on Air Passenger Duty. Under the terms of the scheme locations over 2000 miles away from the UK are charged at a higher rate of tax, which Dr Kamall believes breaches European rules on Free Movement.
The proposed new duty requirement is also causing major concern for Cypriots in the UK and businesses in Cyprus because one of its airports (Paphos) is less than 2000 miles from the UK, whilst the other (Larnaca) is over 2000. This could mean that it is cheaper to fly to Paphos because of the lower duty.
The Commission confirmed that it would contact the UK government for further information on the scheme. They say that they will "...review this modification to assess its compatibility with Community law...". The information was obtained in answer to a written question submitted by Syed Kamall.
Syed Kamall said:
"A number of my Cypriot constituents have contacted me with their concerns over this proposed new duty. We're in difficult economic times and we cannot risk making the recession worse for the tourism sector. It is also ridiculous to think that in the case of Cyprus the two airports might have very different tax regimes.
We also should be very worried about what this will do to the developing world: it will push up costs for British companies and aid organisations travelling to developing countries."
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