16 December 2020
The UK government has ‘sneaked’ in a duty increase on avgas during a debate in the House of Commons.
The debate was on the Taxation (Post-transition Period) Bill. The amount of the increase was not specified but Jesse Norman, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, made reference to a £10 increase on an uplift of 450 litres. That works out at about 1.35%.
“The Bill introduces a small increase in the rate of duty on aviation gasoline, which will apply across the UK to ensure consistency between Great Britain and Northern Ireland,” said Mr Norman.
The announcement was challenged by Alison Thewliss, Shadow SNP spokesperson (Treasury), who said, “I am quite surprised that he allowed to fly the EU setting the level of taxation on aviation gasoline.
“The reason that I am quite surprised about that, in the most ludicrous of ludicrous Brexit-based patriotic ironies, is that avgas is the fuel used not just in private and leisure aircraft, as the Minister set out, but in Spitfires, Hurricanes and other similar planes.
“There is some mad irony in the UK Government handing over to the EU the power to set the taxation on those vintage planes that bear so much patriotism among so many people.”
The exchange can be read here.
2 comments
We are the one of only 2 countries in the EU that doesn’t allow fuel excise duty to be reclaimed or not levied by flying schools
No wonder our Commercial Flying Schools are losing out .
Professional flying training, indeed any flying training, is encouraged by the majority of countries in the western world.
Start taxing IT giants instead. Ignore their threats and make it stick. …..