Impact of Air Departure Tax is being ignored say greens
The Scottish Government’s new Air Departure Tax policy lacks any “robust analysis” and is therefore unlikely to be passed in parliament say the Greens.
Speaking after a meeting of Holyrood’s Finance and Constitution Committee, where evidence was taken from civil servants and airline bosses, Green MSP Patrick Harvie also said the government had “no clue” about the economic and environmental impact of its policy.
Finance and economy spokesperson, Patrick Harvie MSP said:
“It’s entirely clear that the Scottish Government has no clue about the economic impact from its policy, the impact on the Scottish budget, or the environmental impact. Not only that, they appear to have no policy on how much they think aviation emissions can be allowed to grow in the future.
“It should be no surprise that the aviation industry, motivated by its own profits, is relying on flimsy and out of date research to argue for a big tax break. But it would be a complete failure of sense if the Scottish Parliament was to pass this legislation in the absence of a robust analysis of the impact.”