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08/07/2011
Call For NI Air Passenger Duty To Be Scrapped
Air Passenger Duty on all flights from Northern Ireland's airports should be scrapped, according to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.
The report by the group of MPs said that the tax was much higher in Northern Ireland than in the Republic of Ireland which was ultimately damaging to the local economy.
The Committee's Chairman Laurence Robertson said the implications for Northern Ireland were "deeply troubling" if the current air tax rate was not addressed "as a matter of urgency".
In June, Continental Airlines warned that Northern Ireland's only transatlantic air route was in danger of being axed if passenger duty was not reduced.
The Committee recommended the merging of two air tax bands and the introduction of a zero duty rate.
The report also said that the Committee was not convinced of the viability of devolving the power to set Air Passenger Duty, but that this may be reconsidered if corporation tax was devolved to the region and its impact assessed.
The report has been welcomed by both Belfast International Airport and George Best Belfast City Airport.
A Treasury spokesperson said that further discussions were planned and that the Government would provide a consultation in the autumn.
(KMcA/GK)
The report by the group of MPs said that the tax was much higher in Northern Ireland than in the Republic of Ireland which was ultimately damaging to the local economy.
The Committee's Chairman Laurence Robertson said the implications for Northern Ireland were "deeply troubling" if the current air tax rate was not addressed "as a matter of urgency".
In June, Continental Airlines warned that Northern Ireland's only transatlantic air route was in danger of being axed if passenger duty was not reduced.
The Committee recommended the merging of two air tax bands and the introduction of a zero duty rate.
The report also said that the Committee was not convinced of the viability of devolving the power to set Air Passenger Duty, but that this may be reconsidered if corporation tax was devolved to the region and its impact assessed.
The report has been welcomed by both Belfast International Airport and George Best Belfast City Airport.
A Treasury spokesperson said that further discussions were planned and that the Government would provide a consultation in the autumn.
(KMcA/GK)
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