AVIATION DUTY

That this House expresses its concern about HM Treasury's proposals for a new tax on commercial flights called aviation duty; is further concerned about the damage that this new tax will do to an £11 billion industry supporting 700,000 United Kingdom jobs; notes with concern that the UK's position at the centre of a global transport network will be hit, to the detriment of the City, and that long-haul flights from UK regional airports will be cut; further notes with concern that this new tax will achieve none of the environmental benefits intended, and may even cause emissions to increase; recognises the dangers of the introduction of a per plane duty creating market distortions and tax-motivated behaviour which does not deliver environmental benefits; further recognises that the air-freight industry underpins thousands of jobs and that this highly competitive and price-sensitive freight sector is not affected by the existing passenger-related tax, but would be under the new proposals making many freight flights uneconomic; acknowledges that instead of promoting cleaner direct passenger flights, the new tax will be an incentive for more people to take connecting services to Schiphol or Paris with double the number of fuel-intensive take-offs and landings, increasing emissions, costing jobs and putting more foreign HGVs on UK roads; and calls on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to reject proposals for a new aviation duty, which is deeply flawed environmentally, legally and economically.