1 November 2024 will mark the 30th anniversary of Air Passenger Duty. Hated by passengers, loved by Governments. Air Passenger Duty went live in 1994, but was introduced in 1993 by Kenneth Clarke, Chancellor of the Exchequer, who thought it was unfair that international agreements let air transport fly on fully duty rebated aviation kerosene, as a result being the only form of transport that was not taxed. As a counterbalance, Clarke brought in an excise duty collected by airlines on passengers who start their flights from the UK. It was never positioned as a ‘green’ tax. Clarke said at the time, “I need to raise revenue…in a way which does least damage to the economy.” The Finance Bill that brought in APD and Insurance Premium Tax was the largest to date, and HM Customs and Excise had not introduced taxes of such weight since the creation of VAT. The Assistant Secretary at Revenue Duties A in Manchester put in a bid to take on the new tax as, “it sounded interesting and it would help ...