More than 300 businesses have so far joined the fight to persuade chancellor George Osborne to reduce the rates of Air Passenger Duty.
Over the last three weeks, the Fair Tax on Flying alliance has been encouraging businesses to sign up to its latest attempt to persuade the government to cut APD.
So far, 331 businesses from across the UK have signed the online petition which reads: “I believe that Air Passenger Duty is too high and call upon the government to undertake urgent action to reduce the world’s highest air passenger tax”.
The alliance has also been boosted by 40 MPs who have now signed an early day motion calling on the treasury to “commission a comprehensive study into the economic impact of Air Passenger Duty”.
Darren Caplan, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said: “We now have 17 chambers of commerce backing our campaign, and it is great to see MPs acknowledging the crippling effect which the highest levels of APD in the world are having on UK businesses and the economy.”
Earlier this year, the UK’s biggest airlines commissioned leading business adviser Pricewaterhouse Coopers to look into impact of APD on the UK economy. PWC argued that abolishing the tax could create around 60,000 new jobs but the government dismissed the report’s findings.
BATA chief executive Simon Buck, added: “Given that last year APD was such a postbag issue, with MPs receiving over 200,000 emails from constituents, it is incredibly promising that 40 MPs have already signed EDM (early day motion) 244. We welcome their support in highlighting the restrictions APD is placing on business.”
Early Day Motions are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons, but only a few are actually debated in Parliament, although they do allow MPs to draw attention to an issue.
Businesses can sign the online APD petition by clicking here.