Miatta Fahnbulleh advocated frequent-flyer levies that would add hundreds of pounds to the annual costs of regular travellers.
Now the Energy Secretary, she called for
the taxes while chief executive of the New Economics Foundation think
tank between 2017 and 2023.
During her time there, the think tank
proposed in 2021 adding an escalating levy to tickets which would
increase for every subsequent flight taken within a year, replacing the
current Air Passenger Duty system.
Her appointment on Monday is likely to raise concerns that some of her previous policy proposals may be taken forward.
The think tank’s work has been
incorporated into Labour policymaking in the past, including work on
green industrial strategy and energy.
Richard Holden MP, the Shadow Transport
Secretary, said families were already paying some of the highest flight
taxes in the world “just to get away for a well-earned break”. “But Andy
Burnham’s pick as Labour’s Energy Secretary wants to pile another tax
on top,” he said.
He added British families were already
being “taxed through the roof” and claimed the new taxes on air travel
represented a punishment for “anyone who dares to fly for a holiday”.
Under the frequent-flyer tax proposal, the
first flight taken by any individual in a given year would be exempt.
The proposal was designed in part to keep costs neutral for
lower-earners, who typically travel less, and to also protect family
holidays. However, costs would then ratchet up in increments.
Under one model, for example, the tax on
the first flight would be £0, the second flight £25, and each additional
increment would increase by £10 thereafter (£35, £45, £55) for each
subsequent flight. By the 10th flight the total green tax bill would
come to £585.
The costs would be even higher for those travelling for business, representing a significant cost to companies.
It would be felt most by higher earners,
who fly more, with models suggesting the highest 20% of earners would
cut flying by around 30%, while the lowest 20% would be unaffected....<<<Read More>>>...