Air Passenger Duty Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Air Passenger Duty

Mark Garnier Excerpts
Thursday 1st November 2012

(12 years ago)

Commons Chamber
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Mark Garnier Portrait Mark Garnier (Wyre Forest) (Con)
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I congratulate my hon. Friend on introducing the debate. Does she agree that APD can act as a barrier to expansion for some regional airports? Were it not for the high level of APD, they could attract other carriers, thereby rebalancing our economy.

Priti Patel Portrait Priti Patel
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I completely agree with my hon. Friend. That is part of the challenge of our wider aviation policy and strategy.

Already in this Parliament, the Government have rightly recognised a number of counter-productive and damaging taxes, and scrapped a number of them, including the cider tax, the jobs tax and the broadband phone tax, and the planned increase to the small profits rate was replaced with a cut. On that basis, I urge the Minister to consider the economic impact of APD.