Tax super-rich on private jet travel to fund public transport, says UK charity

The super-rich should be forced to pay an extra tax each time they fly on “hugely damaging” private jets to help fund better and cleaner public transport, a charity has said. The Campaign for Better Transport (CfBT) called on the government to introduce a “super tax” on private jet travel, saying it is “about time that these individuals started paying for the damage their flights cause and the proceeds used to help improve public transport for communities up and down the country”. The charity said private jets are between five and 14 times more polluting than commercial flights and 50 times more polluting than taking a train. They argue that a “super rate of air passenger duty (APD)” should be applied to account for the damage caused to the planet. The CfBT also called on the government to strip private flights of their current VAT-free status. “Private jets are hugely damaging to the environment and are the preserve of the super-rich,” said Norman Baker, the CfBT’s director of external affairs and a former Liberal Democrat MP. Currently, private jet passengers are charged the same rate of APD as business or first-class passengers, with a higher rate applied to aircraft of 20 tonnes or more with fewer than 19 passengers onboard. The campaigners said the new super rate of APD on private jet travel should be set at 10 times the current higher rate for domestic and European trips, which would apply to all private jet passengers, regardless of the size or capacity of the aircraft or distance travelled. They said the tax could raise GBP1.4b-a-year – roughly equal to Network Rail’s entire annual maintenance costs. In addition, CfBT said the government should charge VAT each time a private jet lands or takes off, regardless of size or distance travelled, which would raise a further GBP79m-GBP623m.<br/>