Britain’s coalition government–composed of an exotic combination of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats–is at war with itself in more ways than one. But its recent proposals for a new tax on private aviation are a prime example of this conflict. Outlining plans to extend the UK’s airline passenger duty to business aviation in the annual budget statement on March 22, the Treasury invited interested parties to comment by June 17, with a view to finalizing the tax by the fall. The 50-page document is extremely hard to understand and so, for the benefit of those who don’t have British English as a mother tongue, please let me offer you this translation:
“Since taking office last May, we’ve been delivering sanctimonious lectures to the British people about the need to reduce the country’s budget deficit through shared sacrifice. At the same time, we’ve turned a blind eye to widespread tax avoidance on the part of some of our prominent financial backers. We have also been doing everything possible to feather the nests of the City of London financial community, who have continued to quaff taxpayer subsidized champagne while chuckling at the sight of the working poor being laid off.
Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.
