Estimates Day — [2nd Allotted Day] — Supplementary Estimates, 2003–04 — Aviation Servives — Department for Transport

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 1:52 pm on 11 March 2004.

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Photo of Brian H Donohoe Brian H Donohoe Labour, Cunninghame South 1:52, 11 March 2004

Having examined this matter in some detail, I think that one of the differences between an aeroplane and a train, a car, a bicycle or any other form of transport is the extent to which an aircraft goes abroad. If it goes far enough abroad, it can pick up fuel, and in those circumstances, it would be able to avoid the consequences of the hon. Gentleman's proposals. What he says does not therefore make an awful lot of sense.

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Julian Todd
Posted on 13 Oct 2004 6:28 pm (Report this annotation)

So then tax the amount of fuel in the tank when it leaves the ground and it won't matter if it filled up in Paris or London.

Otherwise, calculate the tax that would be raised on fuel were the airline industry not to cheat, and impose it on take-offs and landings, which are impossible to lie about.

Chris Lightfoot
Posted on 19 Oct 2004 6:01 pm (Report this annotation)

I think you'd have to impose such a tax across the whole EU, otherwise airlines would just route around the UK, resulting in a loss of money for people working in the industry here, but not much else. Airlines couldn't really route around the whole EU; that would be silly. They'd have to put up with the tax.