Leading business and public sector figures from the north east of Scotland are calling on Chancellor George Osborne to take immediate action on “crippling” Air Passenger Duty.
The group hopes its 11th-hour bid ahead of next month’s pre-budget report will help reverse the tax. Its open letter to the Chancellor follows an announcement in late September that APD for long haul routes in Northern Ireland were to be reduced to short haul levels to help stimulate the economy.
The letter notes that there are many similarities between the Northern Irish and Scottish economies.
The group suggests that many of the arguments that apply to the relationship between APD and the development of business and tourism in Northern Ireland apply equally to the more peripheral regions of the UK, including the north east of Scotland.
Scotland is trying to increase inward investment and increase export revenue to support its recovery from the recession.
Aberdeen airport managing director Derek Provan said: “Earlier this year, we as a group asked the Chancellor to consider devolving APD to the Scottish Government.
“Ministers in Scotland have been supportive of this proposal, and we have sought confirmation from them that should it be devolved the monies raised would be used for the long-term good of the aviation industry in Scotland.
“This announcement about changes to the system in Northern Ireland make it increasingly difficult to ignore our argument.”
Derick Murray, director of transport body NESTRANS, added: “An economic impact study, carried out for the Scottish Airports, into Air Passenger Duty clearly shows the relationship between this tax and passenger numbers.
“For the north east, because of our geography and global economy, a very high proportion of passengers are businesses and this tax effectively taxes our businesses disproportionately.
“Devolution to the Scottish Parliament, as proposed for Northern Ireland would permit taxes to be set that don’t penalise our companies.”