This summer millions of British families will head off for a well-earned holiday. But before they do many of the simple but important purchases they make are subject to tax. Items such as clothes are subject to VAT, whilst travel insurance purchases are hit by Insurance Premium Tax (IPT). The relative cost of ticket taxes in the UK is the highest in the developed world.
New calculations by the TaxPayers’ Alliance reveal just how heavy a burden the taxman places on our summer getaways. The key findings of this research are:
- In 2015 the estimated total tax bill for holidays abroad will total almost £2.4 billion. That works out at £62 for each holidaymaker heading abroad.
- The TaxPayers’ Alliance’s 2008 estimate for the total tax bill on holidays abroad was nearly £1.5 billion. Since then the total bill has risen by over £900 million, due in part to changes in the rates of Air Passenger Duty and higher VAT