Britain`s air travel tax: a disaster for the Caribbean

| 25/11/2009

(CaribWorldNews): Britannia may no longer rule the waves but its imposition of the November 1 Air Passenger Duty tax has sent shock waves across the Atlantic that will wash up on Caribbean shores with a devastating effect on the region’s tourism industry. In spite of massive lobbying from home and abroad and objections from airlines, tour operators and tourism organizations including the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the British government went ahead with its plan to impose the allegedly `green` and controversial Airport Passenger Duty aimed at taxing aviation`s `carbon emissions.`

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  1. Common Sense 101 says:

    Perhaps the Caribbean countries should ban together and implement the same tax for all people travelling to London!

  2. No Sah says:

    There we have it folks – "Carbon tax" / "global warming", the latest great global economic scam devised by the same parisitic, disgusting and crap-filled lot(s) from over yonder.

    I really wish people would wake the hell up, turn off CNN and FOX’s brainwashing devices and just do a touch of personal research (as I did) on this issue and see for themselves what is the true position.

    But what’s the use?  – "Environmentalism" is the new all righteous religion of the world – they’re even indoctrinating our children from the pre-school levels into this over-inflated nonsense.

    "Pay a tax to solve the problem" (I’m still gonna take the damn flight.)

    "But we’ll plant a tree over in Timbuktu to offest your emissions of Armageddon" (Okay … but where does the majority of my money end up?)

    "Well, due to governmental projects and research facilities, university grants, and blah fr*ggin’ blah – most of your hard earned cash will end up right in our naitonal coffers!" (Hmmm…you mean this is another environmental scam similar to the recycling one exposed a few years ago when it was revealed that Britain and the rest of Europe was demanding and taxing their citizens to bag and recycle their non-biodegradables but then turned around and shipped it all off to China for it to be burned as usual?! Or like the cash-for-clunkers scam in Germany where the government was and still is turning a blind eye to the thousands of cars being exported under the radar as they collect the export duties?!)

    "Uhh..yes exactly!" (I see … and is it not true that these ridiculous, over-inflated and misrepresented findings in regards to "climate change / global warming / going green"  will have a disastrous effect on developing nations who were just about to see half a ray of sunlight at the end of their long-standing dark economic tunnel and will serve to cripple their advancement – therefore securing the now threatened status of the (all powerful) Euro-American / Western nations and economies?")

    "You sir are a GLOBAL WARMING DENIER!! SHAME ON YOU – HOW DARE YOU?!!!"

    (Yeah – I figured that would be your response – have a good day now.)

     

     

    ** I love a clean country as much as anyone else and I despise a litterbug – but this issue of "environmentalism" has transformed into some sort of cult following. Check it out for yourself folks. Today CNN is the absolute worst source for truthful information on just about any issue. **

    • Anonymous says:

      you probably think smoking is good for you or maybe the earth is flat too….

      wake up, every scientist worth their salt knows whats going on with global warming… why does everything have to be a big conspiracy? the last thing the developed countries want now is enviromental concerns hindering economic recovery…..

      • Anon says:

        "every scientist worth their salt knows whats going on with global warming"

        Yes they do; they know that it is a fraud, but a good source of government funds to keep them in a job. The recent leaks of e-mails from the University of East Anglia prove that.
         
        Governments like it because it gives them a good way of spinning the application of taxes on a whole new range of items.
        • Anonymous says:

          yeah keep going.. you are in a crackpot minority and the rest of us are just being duped by a huge international conspiracy consisting of international scientists, governments, the un…etc…….zzzzzz

        • O'Really says:

          Here’s a link to an article about the University of East Anglia leaked emails. The emails appear not to have been leaked ( which implies someone on the inside trying to get the truth out ) but hacked ( which implies someone on the outside looking to make mischief).

          I post this not in support of the Labour government in it’s quest to tax everything in sight, but in support of independent thinking.

          http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2009/nov/23/leaked-email-climate-change

          Make up your own mind.

    • Green Giant says:

      "Environmentalism"???  Stick your head out the window.  THAT’S the environment.  Drive past our mountain of trash.  THAT’S part of the environment.  Like it??  Every time you breath you’re a member of the same environmentalism "cult".  Bozo.

      • Anonymous says:

        stick his out the window???…he’s too busy reading conspiracy theories on the internet….

    • Anonymous says:

      Don’t get confused, there are two issue here – one is your distrust and hatred of politicians and their taxing ways, which is absolutely fair enough (i am with you 100%) but the other issue is with scientists. Scientists are just reporting what they are finding around the world and the science is pretty darn clear about what is happening and who is to blame. Please don’t ignore the science becuase you don’t like the politicians interpretation of said science.

      Climate change is happening and is almost certianly due to man made emissions of carbon dioxide – before questioning this please please please do some research (scientific and not media based), we can not have another discussion about the science when only one side of the discussion has actually read any of the reports.

      For most people its the politicians interpretaion and solutions to the problem that really get peoples goat and the scientists just get lumped in with them. People really need to distinguish between the two parties.

      • PB says:

        This poster misunderstands what global warming is and what causes it. Scvientists have been using selective data to support their cause, and this has been shown now. Al Gore has been dismissed since his presumptions wwre flawed.

        Humans emit 3% of the world’s total carbon emissions. The goal is to reduce those by 20%, which equals 6/10ths of one percent reduction. Negligible!

        Do you know that the beetle infesting the forests of British Columbia (also Washington and Oregon) emits seven times more carbon than all of the transportation in Canada combined? If the scientists you spoke of focused on eliminating this problematic beetle that is decimating forests it would balance the emission issue immediately.

        Global warming is caused by sun spot activity – we are in a low period of sun spot activity now, and have been since 1999, and the average global temperature has actually declined since 1999. Coincidence? No!

        Perhaps the poster can correct the facts that the opinion is based upon?

         

    • Anonymous says:

      One more point – if you have any doubt about an issue, by far the best option is to follow the money, then you will understand the motivation behing what people are saying. Ask yourself one question, who has more cash, university based scientists or multinational energy and industrial companies. Its as simple as that – follow the money. Much like smoking, the tobacco companies did all they could to discredit the doctors who said smoking caused lungcancer, for the good of man kind people saw the situation for as it really was. In the same way multinational energy companies (eg exxon which is larger than most countries on the planet) are trying their hardest to persuade that nothing is wrong, everyone should go back to business as ususal, its all a big conspiracy by the evil scientists etc etc.

      See the wood for the trees no sah. you are the one being duped.

    • Anonymous says:

      It does not matter what the money is used for,a tax internalises for the consumer the externality of environmental damage.

  3. Roger Corbin says:

    Hopefully the income raised by this tax will actually be used for something related to the environment. The "environmental tax" imposed by the Cayman islands Government on each departing air traveller gets used for everything other than the environment.

    • Anon says:

      You’re very funny!

       

      Gordon Brown is taxing everyone more and more everyday to fund a bloated public sector that was created to buy votes. The ‘enviornment’ has got nothing to do with it.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Dear Rufus B. Saye,

    Use google is not’s that hard.

  5. Rufus B. Saye says:

    Some more info please… is this tax a flat-rate fee, or is it a percentage of the cost of the ticket?

    And some examples would be helpful also, assuming there are differences between advance-purchase Economy at one end of the price spectrum through to full-fare Business Class tickets..

    CNS: The tax is not based on rates but on the distance between the capital cities of the coutries the traveller departs from and arrives at. Here’s more:

    http://www.caymannewsservice.com/business/2009/02/22/uk-green-tax-unfair

    http://www.caymannewsservice.com/business/2009/08/28/uk-set-high-tax-travellers-caribbean