Trump Tax: private jet levy could raise £250k every time former President visits Scotland
A private jet tax could raise £250,000 every time former US President Donald Trump visits Scotland, says Scottish Greens finance spokesperson, Ross Greer.
The levy would be based on the application of a new ‘super rate’ of Air Departure Tax for private jet passengers. This would be set at 10 times the current top rate of the tax, proportionate to the massively increased level of pollution for private air travel versus regular commercial flights.
The distance between Scotland and Trump’s Mar A Lago home in Florida puts it in Band B for Air Passenger Duty, currently set at £581 per passenger at the ‘Higher’ rate. A new Super Rate which reflects the huge damage private jets do to the climate could be set at £5,800. With Trump’s Boeing 757 capable of carrying 43 passengers, a flight to Scotland at this rate would result in a £249,400 fee at the point of departure back to the US.
All parties agreed to devolve Air Passenger Duty during the Smith Commission ten years ago and an Act of the Scottish Parliament was passed in 2017 to replace it with a Scottish Air Departure Tax. However, this has not yet commenced due to the UK Government’s refusal to allow the exemption for lifeline island flights to continue. Were this to be resolved, the Scottish Government would immediately have the power to implement a super-tax on private jets.
Ross Greer MSP said: “Most people are trying to play our part in tackling the climate crisis. Our individual efforts are important, but they are totally undermined by the super-rich flying across the world in private jets which are ten times more polluting than regular flights and fifty times worse than trains. It's time these elites were taxed in line with the massive damage their lifestyle is doing to the planet.
“Whether it’s Trump jetting between his golf courses, CEOs visiting their yachts or Rishi Sunak flying between parts of the UK with perfectly good rail lines, there’s no justification for it when we can all see the effects of climate breakdown as they devastate communities across the planet.
“A billionaire uses 820 times as much CO2 as the average person in the UK. They do more damage to the planet before lunch than you do in a whole year.
“A private jet tax would raise money for our public services but its real aim would be to keep the super-rich and their destructive toys on the ground. It would of course have the added bonus of keeping the notoriously tight and cash-strapped Donald J Trump out of Scotland. That's a gift you couldn't even begin to put a price tag on.”
NOTES
Below table is current Air Passenger Duty as set UK-wide, with a new theoretical Super rate which would be applied to private aircraft above a certain size/weight. This Super rate is just ten times the Higher rate, roughly equal to the increased level of emissions per passenger relative to those on regular commercial flights.
The distance between Orlando (closest major airport to Mar A Lago) and Edinburgh is just under 5,000 miles, so would be band B at £5,800. Trump’s 757 has a capacity of 43 people, so 43 x £5,800 = £249,400.
|
Destination
|
Reduced Rate
|
Standard
|
Higher
|
New ‘Super’ Rate
|
|
Domestic
|
£7
|
£14
|
£78
|
£780
|
|
Band A
|
£13
|
£26
|
£78
|
£1000
|
|
Band B
(2,001 - 5,500 miles)
|
£88
|
£194
|
£581
|
£5,800
|
|
Band C
(5,501 miles and above)
|
£92
|
£202
|
£607
|
£6,000
|