Majority of British voters back private jet tax to help fill Budget black hole

The majority of British voters support a private jet tax to help fill chancellor John Healey’s Budget black hole, exclusive new polling has revealed.

More in Common polling seen by The Independent has shown that 79 per cent back the move that has previously been mooted by some backbench Labour MPs and supported by the new energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh.

The survey of 3,039 adults taken in September comes ahead of the Budget next month where the chancellor will be forced to make some tough choices on tax and spend as he tries to fund Andy Burnham’s commitments.

These include a £2 cap on bus tickets, ending rough sleeping, removing VAT from energy bills, as well as find at least £5bn to fund defence spending.

The private jet tax, which could involve an increase to fuel duty and hikes to air passenger duty, would mostly hit billionaires because usage of private aircraft is heavily weighted among the super-rich. The poll also showed that 56 per cent of those surveyed believe the rich do not pay their fair share.

Support for the move and other taxes on the wealthy including equalising capital gains tax with income tax, is being pushed by a number of MPs on Labour’s backbenches as they seek to influence Mr Healey’s thinking prior to the Budget.

Chris Hinchcliff, Labour MP for North East Herts, said: "Our constituents are clear on what they want: a tax on private jets to fund essential services is common sense for both our economy and our environment. Those at the top of society should be paying their fair share to ensure that those suffering the most with the cost of living are not bearing the brunt of it.

"With a majority of the public supporting this, there is no better time for the Government to introduce taxes on private jet fuel and on extreme wealth."

It is believed that a private jet tax could raise as much as £2.7bn if fuel duty on private-jet kerosene is set at 10 times the road-fuel rate (£5.295 per litre), bringing in an extra £1.5 billion a year; and if air passenger duty is hiked by 30 times its current rate adding £1.2bn.

Myles Cummins, aviation campaign manager at climate charity Possible, said: "As this polling shows, a majority of Britons support a tax on private jets so that the richest in society can pay their fair share.

"Private jet passengers are currently paying almost nothing in tax compared to the tax ordinary people pay for their flights, while also producing an astronomical amount of pollution on journeys that only the obscenely wealthy can afford. In the cost-of-living and climate crises, that simply isn’t acceptable. The numbers are clear: people want a private jet tax, so why aren't we doing something about it?”

Katie Thompson, a former private jet pilot and member of Safe Landing, added: “Our industry as it stands is unsustainable. Transitioning aviation away from fossil fuels requires significant investment, but not everybody should foot the bill. The fairest and most effective approach is to tax those who fly the most polluting aircraft - private jets.”

The polling shows that the private jet tax is most popular among Labour (68 per cent) and Green (75 per cent) voters but even almost half of Tory (46 per cent) and Reform (49 per cent) voters back the move.

Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has previously pushed for changing air passenger taxes, raising duties on empty flights as well as looking at private jets.