Originally Posted by
Aviatrix
I think "poor families" thing really needs to be put into perspective...
Flying is a LOT cheaper now than it was 10 or 20 years ago, not just relative to people's earnings but in absolute terms. 20 years ago flights to France or Germany were around GBP 100 return. These days you can fly for a fraction of that on Ryanair. Even with the new taxes flying is still going to be much cheaper than it was in the past.
Could families afford foreign holidays 20 years ago? Yes, the average family could afford their fortnight in the sun just as easily as they can now. People didn't take as many foreign week-end trips back then, and stag nights tended to be a few beers at the local pub rather than a boozy week-end in Prague or Riga... but was that really such a bad thing?
We all like to travel as cheaply as possible, but I think this UK tax thing has been blown up out of all proportions.
I respectfully disagree with your statement. Although there is no doubt that the price of air travel has declined in the last 20 years, this is hardly an invitation for the British government to extort money from the market.
I also disagree with the people who object to the lack of earmarking with the money. According to theory, earmarking is completely useless since any money the government raises that is earmarked simply displaces funds that would have been spent on the earmarked item in the first place. All that earmarking does is to reduce the government's ability to actively control its expenditure on an earmarked activity.