Originally Posted by
lhrsfo
APD is a different matter though and the calculations are very different. First of all, there is evidence of its original implementation and its subsequent increases to see what effect it had then. Second, it's a relatively small amount in the purchase of a ticket and, currently at least, fares are relatively low from LHR. Third, it's difficult to avoid as you have to leave the country somehow and most people aren't into ex-EUs. Fourth politically it ticks green boxes, anti airport expansion boxes and BA is a foreign company anyway so if it affects them, who cares?
The contrary arguments revolve around discouraging business travel to the UK and the massive economic hit which the UK would take if that becomes a factor. On its own, I suspect that HMT will conclude that this increase will only affect that at the margin but the problem is that the UK is becoming increasingly hostile to business - EU countries may conclude that but unfortunately we are also becoming hostile to non-EU business also - and the increase will serve to confirm that impression.
I don't think changes to APD will make any difference to genuine business travel. An extra £200 on a £10,000 business class return bought at the last minute isn't even a rounding error.
Business demand will sit outside of APD.
Leisure travel, though? Premium Economy attracts the same APD as Business Class, and the extra APD will change the dynamics of that particular product. It's also telling that most of the complaints on this thread relate to the additional costs for a reward ticket.
As for the economic impact of tourists not stopping over in London on their way to/from somewhere else, a look at room rates and occupancy rates in London suggests that the impact is negligible.
Originally Posted by
Jagboi
the cost of shipping a suit wouldn't be cheap. I had a good baggage allowance with my air ticket, so why pay to ship something I can carry for free?
The service charge for reclaiming VAT isn't going to be any less than the cost of having something shipped to wherever.
I still think the UK leaving the EU is what moved the dial here. Changing the rules wasn't about increasing the VAT take from non-EU tourists. The issue was EU tourists, who never used to be able to reclaim VAT.