The average holidaymaker will pay £68 in tax travelling abroad this year and the Treasury will rake in £3.1 billion, according to the Taxpayers’ Alliance.
A family of four who went to Spain would pay £137 in taxes, including air passenger duty, VAT on pre-holiday shopping and insurance premium tax, it calculated. A family of four travelling to Florida would pay £261.
The number of holidays that involved flying rose by 8.1% in the first quarter of this year compared with last, according to the Office for National Statistics.
John O’Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, told The Times: “It is clear that Air Passenger Duty is just another way for the taxman to squeeze every penny out of hard-pressed families.
“We are calling on the government to give Brits a break and scrap this unfair tax once and for all.”
The call came as the government today published consultation on how to protect travellers who book package holidays online.
At present 50% of holiday arrangements are not covered by financial protection for the consumer if a company stops trading.