Heading away? That’ll be £50 to the taxman
JETTING off for a week on foreign shores may cost you more than just a dodgy tanline and a peeling nose.
New research suggests that every time British holidaymakers go away, they stump up £50 to the taxman for the pleasure.
Campaign group the Taxpayers’ Alliance has totted up the cost of tax paid on holiday essentials such as flights, sunscreen and travel insurance and discovered that on average every UK holidaymaker pays £50 to the Treasury when they travel abroad. The costs rocket for trips to far-flung destinations.
“It’s wrong that a week in the sun comes with such a huge tax bill, as the taxman chases holidaymakers all the way to the departure gate,” chief executive of the TPA Jonathan Isaby said.
“These taxes are not only too high but hit those on lower incomes the hardest, making it more difficult for hard-working people to get away for a well-deserved break. These stealth taxes are unfair and must be abolished. It’s time for the chancellor to give families a break.”
Increases in air passenger duty and VAT mean the overall cost to holidaymakers has risen from nearly £1.5bn in 2008 to nearly £1.9bn this year. The insurance premium tax also adds to the total.