What is the Air Ticket Levy?
- The Air Ticket Levy is a proposal to introduce a small tax on airline tickets. The revenue of which will be the first nationally collected, internationally disbursed tax, dedicated to development.
- In order to gain the broadest international support for this initiative the terms of its implementation have been left open so that each participating country can, according to national priorities, set different rates taking into account economic, social and ecological criteria as appropriate, and observe a differentiation between first/business and economy class tickets, as well as domestic and international flights.
Why do we need an Air Ticket Levy?
- In 2005 some progress was made to increase aid to the developing world, but much more needs to be done. We have not achieved the kind of increases that would make poverty history.
- What is needed are predictable sources of extra money than can help pay for clean water, healthcare and education. That is why we are calling for additional funding measures to help bridge the gap between what the developed world has promised and what the developing world needs.
How has the Air Ticket Levy come about?
- In 2003, Brazil, France, Chile and Spain – known as the ‘Lula Group’ spearheaded a call for new, innovative mechanisms to help pay for international development.
- In September 2004 the French proposed the idea of an Air Ticket Levy as a new income stream to help pay for development. It was one of a number of options contained in the Landau Report – commissioned by President Chirac to identify how the international community could provide more and better funding for development.
- Throughout the course of 2005 political will coalesced around the Air Ticket Levy initiative culminating in the EU Finance Ministers agreeing to back it.
- At the UN Millennium Review Summit in New York in September 2005, the ‘Lula Group’ launched a joint declaration saying ‘in the near future, we will further work on and pursue the project of a solidarity contribution levied on air tickets for global sustainable development’. The declaration has now been signed by almost 80 countries and was hailed as one of the few successes of the summit.
- The UK already already collects an air ticket levy - though it goes by the name of an Air Passenger Duty. Airlines pay this duty everytime a passenger flies abroad from a UK airport. For every economy class flight in Europe there is a £5 charge, and for other destinations there’s a £20 charge. If you fly business or first class this increases to £20 and £40 respectively. This earns the Treasury about £1billion a year.
- At present the UK government has agreed to participate with France, Brazil and Chile in the Air Ticket Levy initiative, but has not yet stated what proportion of the £1 billion will be devoted to aid.
What's next?
- There will be a meeting of Ministers in Paris on February 28 and March 01 2006 to agree on implementation measures.
What action needs to be taken?
- We need the UK Government to show leadership by allocating ALL the ‘Air Passenger Duty’ revenue as ‘Aid’.
- It is essential that this extra finance will be additional to the UK's existing aid flows – over and above our commitment to spend 0.7% of our gross national income on international development by 2013.
- As well, any additional finance needs to be free of economic policy conditions, as is already the case with UK bilateral aid.
- Please click here now to send an urgent message to Gordon Brown.
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