This week’s prize for obdurate stupidity goes to….

And it’s only Monday as we write:

Campaigners have urged the chancellor to start taxing jet fuel – with a report showing that charging duty at the same rate paid by motorists would raise up to £6bn a year for the public finances.

An analysis by the thinktank Transport & Environment (T&E) UK said introducing a “fair” equivalent to the fuel duty paid in other sectors could raise between £400m and £5.9bn a year, based on the 11m tonnes of kerosene consumed by planes taking off from the UK in 2023.

It’s entirely true that jet fuel is not directly taxed. But we do have Air Passenger Duty:

Air Passenger Duty, a duty unique to the UK, was introduced in 1994 by the then chancellor of the Exchequer, Kenneth Clarke. Clarke regarded it as anomalous that fuel duty was not levied on air transport, but international agreements prevented his levying a duty on aircraft kerosene. As an alternative, Clarke introduced Air Passenger Duty, a levy collected by airlines on passengers who start their journeys at UK airports.

As with skinning cats in the Mid West there are many ways to tax something. APD is the method we use to tax jet fuel. Annual collection is heading toward £4 billion.

In the paper from the not thinking very much tank, Transport and Environment (UK), there is no mention of Air Passenger Duty. Not one.

Yes, today’s only Tuesday, we’ve only had Monday’s examples to consider for nominations for this week’s prize so far but we are going to have to award that prize for obdurate stupidity to T&E (UK) we’re afraid. For we really do think it most unlikely that anyone’s going to beat this in only 6 days.

No, please, do not take this as the start of an hold my beer challenge. We are indeed pretty robust but there is still only so much we can take.

Tim Worstall