Air Passenger Duty

Sarah Teather Excerpts

Thursday 1st November 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Sajid Javid)]

We had an excellent debate earlier on beer duty and now we are discussing APD. I am pleased that, as far as I know, there will be no debate on fuel duty this afternoon. After this debate, I would like a cold beer and a trip to the Caribbean.

I congratulate my hon. Friends the Members for Witham (Priti Patel) and for Crawley (Henry Smith) on securing the debate. I will address some of the specific issues raised by my hon. Friends and by all hon. Members —I believe that 15 spoke from the Back Benches.

As the Minister responsible for air passenger duty, I would like to acknowledge clearly the important contribution the aviation industry makes to the growth and development of the UK economy. The sector connects millions of UK consumers and businesses with international markets, enables tourism to and from the UK and makes long-distance visits between families and relatives possible. I also recognise that recent economic conditions and the global downturn have been challenging for both consumers and the aviation sector. However, there are positive signs for the industry, as evidenced by the recent increase in recorded passenger numbers. I believe that the aviation sector will continue to play an important role in helping the UK economy back to health and strong growth.

I would like to say a little about my own experience. Before being elected to the House, I spent 20 years doing business in emerging countries, and I did that from New York, London and Singapore. I relied very much on the aviation industry and on global international hubs. Therefore, I understand the importance of global aviation to the UK economy if we are maintain our position as one of the world’s leading financial and business centres.

Let me respond to the hon. Members who have expressed concern about the overall level of APD and the impact of recent rises in the duty. The real-terms increases in APD in 2009-10 and 2010-11 were legislated for by the previous Government. Despite the challenge of the budget deficit we inherited, this Government have limited the rise in APD to inflation over the period 2010-11 to 2012-13. Also, in recognising the sector’s need to plan ahead, we have sought to provide airlines and passengers with clarity on future rates. The 2012 Budget set out APD rates for 2013-14, and again the rise is limited to no more than RPI inflation. The real burden of APD will therefore remain unchanged for a further year, as my hon. Friend the Member for Windsor (Adam Afriyie) helpfully recognised.

Hon. Members have today raised concerns about the impact of APD on the UK’s competitiveness and ability to attract inward investment. My hon. Friend the Member for Witham described us, rather intelligently, as being in a global race, and she is absolutely right. The UK has the third largest aviation network in the world, after the USA and China. The Government wish to ensure that UK airports and airlines remain internationally competitive. In that regard, it is important to consider the tax system as a whole.

The Government are committed to creating the most competitive tax regime in the G20, and we have already made significant progress towards that aim. The corporation tax rate has already been reduced to 24% and will be cut to 22% in 2014, which is significantly lower than, for example, the rate in the United States, France and Germany. The further cut in the main rate of corporation tax was warmly received and has encouraged businesses that had previously left the UK to return, such as WPP. It is also encouraging new businesses to relocate to Britain. For example, Aon, one of the world’s largest insurance brokers, has announced plans to relocate its global headquarters from Chicago to London.

Changes to controlled foreign company rules have also been welcomed, with the CBI stating that the new rules will meet the Government’s objectives of simplification and greater competitiveness. As part of the Government’s ambition to increase exports, in July 2012 we also announced a £5 billion export refinancing facility, to be delivered through UK Export Finance as part of its UK guarantees. That will help banks to provide long-term trade finance for UK exports.

Let me say a little about the Government’s approach to APD. I know that some hon. Members have called clearly today for a cut in APD, or at least a freeze in cash terms, but let us be frank about the situation we find ourselves in. Let us not forget that when we came to office we inherited a fiscal deficit of historic proportions. We were burdened with the largest budget deficit in the developed world: £159 billion in the last year of the previous Government, which was more than 11% of the country’s income. At that rate, the previous Government were borrowing more in one week than we raise in one year with APD. The Government’s position is that there can be a sustainable platform for economic growth only if we are willing to tackle that overspending. The plan has earned credibility around the world. Our actions to reduce the deficit and rebuild the UK economy have secured interest rates at near-record lows, benefiting thousands of businesses and families alike. APD is forecast to raise about £2.9 billion in 2013-14. Those revenues will be important if we are to maintain progress towards our goal.

I also remind hon. Members that international aviation is generally not subject to tax on fuel and, in contrast to many other countries that apply VAT on domestic flights, no VAT is levied on international or domestic flights in the UK.

Let me also address hon. Members’ concerns about inbound tourism. The Government continue to place great value on the tourism sector, which makes an important contribution to the economy. Tourism is one of the largest industries in the UK and our third highest export earner, worth around £116 billion to our economy, or roughly 9% of GDP. The Government remain focused on building a long-term tourism legacy from the Olympic games, with Visit Britain investing £125 million in one of its largest international tourism campaigns. One ambition is to raise the number of Chinese visitors from 150,000 now to 500,000 by 2015. Visit Britain is developing a specific marketing plan for China to respond to that challenge.

Domestic tourism is also very important. Of course, for tourism to grow, it must remain affordable. We acknowledge that family budgets are being squeezed and we have to take action to help. The changes to the personal income tax allowances that the Government have already made have helped the budgets of more than 25 million individuals and taken 2 million people out of income taxation altogether.

Our action to reduce the deficit has led to near-record low interest rates, which have also made a contribution. We must not forget that. If interest rates today were just 1% higher than they are now, businesses—particularly small and medium-sized enterprises—would face an additional interest rate bill of almost £10 billion in total, and the average mortgage for a family would rise by almost £1,000 a year.

Let me also address concerns that hon. Members have raised about the 2011 APD consultation and calls for further research. The consultation examined whether reforms to the design of APD could improve the overall fairness of the tax. Following the consultation, we confirmed that APD would be extended to business jets, and the majority of people who responded to the consultation agreed with that.

However, in weighing up the case for reform, the Government recognised that no banding structure could be entirely free of anomalies. A number of hon. Members have mentioned flights to the Caribbean. They have made good points on that issue, which we have heard about before in the House. The hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Thomas Docherty) asked whether I would be prepared to meet him and a delegation; I would be more than happy to do so. The hon. Members for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh) and for Hammersmith (Mr Slaughter) also eloquently referred to flights to and from the Caribbean.

A revenue-neutral change would have required 90% of passengers—those who fly to band A destinations across Europe and band B destinations, such as the US—to pay more for their flights. The Government felt that, in the current economic climate, it would not be fair to ask the majority to pay more to help fund a cut in APD for the minority. They therefore decided to retain the existing structure of four APD distance bands.

[Sarah Teather (Brent Central) (LD)]

I hope that the Minister recognises that his words are extremely disappointing to many of my constituents who travel regularly to the Caribbean—[Interruption.] I have been watching the debate on television. Those constituents will be very concerned about the Minister’s words. Will he reconsider the issue and look at a more granulated banding system that would ensure that those from the Caribbean were not particularly disadvantaged? I recognise his point about asking others to pay more, but the situation is surely unfair for those who are travelling not very far—not as far as to the US.

[Sajid Javid]

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. I am pleased to hear that she has been glued to her television set watching this debate. I take her point about the Caribbean. Several hon. Members have made a similar point, and I have listened carefully.