DARLING MUST STOP UNFAIR CARIBBEAN TAX – TEATHER

for Caribbean Tourism Organisation October 2009

Contact: Matthew Sanders 020 7219 8147 or 07876 755168
Date: 30th June 2009
Embargo: Immediate

DARLING MUST STOP UNFAIR CARIBBEAN TAX - TEATHER

Brent's local Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather has today stepped up the pressure on the government to rethink the unfair Caribbean passenger tax

Joined by popular broadcaster Floella Benjamin, as well as representatives of leading Caribbean organisations, Sarah handed in a petition to Chancellor of the Exchequer including almost 400 signatures from Brent.

The Labour government plan to tax Caribbean passengers at a higher rate than those travelling to the West Coast of the United States, which is further away from the UK. But campaigners want the flight taxes based on the distance they travel and the carbon dioxide levels they emit. This would be fairer on UK residents with family in the Caribbean and better for the environment, too.

Sarah has previously joined a delegation of MPs meeting Bruce Golding, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, to discuss this issue, and has tabled a parliamentary motion urging the government to think again.

Local Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East Sarah Teather said:
"Hundreds of people in Brent have large families living in the Caribbean and need to be able to get to special occasions like weddings or a family Christmas. It simply isn't fair to charge passengers to the Caribbean more tax than those travelling to the West Coast of America.

"Flight taxes should be based on distance and carbon dioxide emissions, not on arbitrary and unfair boundaries drawn up by a government minister. Labour's plans don't protect the environment, they just protect American business interests.

"Taxing planes rather than individual passengers would be better for the environment and fairer for passengers on busy routes. I hope that the Chancellor will listen to the hundreds of people in Brent who have signed my petition and promise to do the right thing for Caribbean families in the UK.

"I urge all local people who feel strongly about this issue to sign my petition online at www.sarahteather.org.uk/petitions"

Broadcaster and Campaigner Floella Benjamin OBE said:
"The proposed Air Passenger Duty discriminates against every single member of the Caribbean community in Britain.

"It will hit families very hard indeed, to say nothing of its impact on the already hard-hit Caribbean tourism economy - a key source of revenue for most of the region".

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

(1)

Sarah Teather's petition reads:

We the undersigned call on the Government to rethink their plans on air passenger duty which will penalise families travelling to the Caribbean. We think it is wrong for flights to the Caribbean to carry a higher tax than flights to the West Coast of America, which is further away. We call on the Government to tax flights based on how much carbon the plane emits not on zones based on the location of a country's capital city. We call on the Government to abolish the air passenger tax and replace it with an aviation duty on each plane, based on the actual distance travelled, which is fairer and better for the environment.

The petition can be signed at:

www.sarahteather.org.uk/petitions

(2)

A video of Sarah handing in the petition has been posted on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uas_iEymLc

(3)

Sarah Teather has tabled the following parliamentary motion:

AIR PASSENGER DUTY ON FLIGHTS TO THE CARIBBEAN
29.06.2009

Teather, Sarah

That this House notes the Government's plans to introduce a new banding system for air passenger duty; believes that any duty should be based on the level of carbon emissions produced by flights rather than arbitrary zones based on location of a country's capital city; notes that actual distance travelled is a good approximation for carbon emissions; further notes that the new banding system will result in flights to the Caribbean incurring a higher tax than flights to the West Coast of the United States, despite being closer in distance to the UK; is concerned that this will disadvantage the many people who have friends and family in the Caribbean, while also failing to effectively curb carbon emissions; further notes that replacing the air passenger duty with a per plane tax would be fairer for passengers flying on busy routes; and calls on the Government to abolish the air passenger duty and replace it with a per plane aviation duty based on the actual distance travelled.

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=38960&SESSION=899

(4)

Friends of the Earth have called on the Government to stick with their original plan for a per-plane aviation duty:

"The rises in APD are welcome, but should be seen in the context of the abandoning of per-plane aviation duty. The Government said in the 2007 Pre-Budget that it intended to implement this, but moved back from it in the 2008 Pre-Budget. This would have encouraged fuller planes and also covered currently untaxed freight flights."

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefing_notes/budget2009_briefing.pdf