BA boss says Scottish independence could be good for business
The chief executive of International Airline Group (IAG) Willie Walsh has become the first CEO of a major company to say that Scottish independence may be good for business.
Speaking to the BBC, Walsh said:
If anything, it will be slightly positive, since we believe (an independent Scotland) will abolish Air Passenger Duty (APD).
The IAG boss said the Scottish government recognised the "huge impact" APD had on the economy.
Walsh's comments come only a day after insurance giant Standard Life warned that an independent Scotland could see the company relocate it's business to England.
In the company's annual report for 2013, chairman Gerry Grimstone said:
We have been based in Scotland for 189 years and we are very proud of our heritage. Scotland has been a good place from which to run our business and to compete around the world. We very much hope that this can continue. If anything were to threaten this, we will take whatever action we consider necessary – including transferring parts of our operations from Scotland – in order to ensure continuity and to protect the interests of our stakeholders.
In December, the chief executive of Virgin Atlantic Craig Kreeger condemned the UK's punishingly high level of APD. Kreeger said the UK government took aviation "for granted in a way that no other government in the world does."
Since it was introduced in 1994 APD has risen rapidly. Then APD amounted to five pounds for European flights and £10 for everywhere else. APD now ranges from £13 to £188 per flight and takes close to £3bn from passengers every year.
The UK is certainly bucking the world trend when it comes to APD. Denmark, Norway, Holland and Malta have already abolished their version of APD with Germany now considering the same.
However, the government has made it clear that it intends to continue raising APD. The tax has come under increasing attack from campaigners and MPs. In 2012, the House of Commons committee on Northern Ireland said APD should be abolished for short-haul flights.
In 2012, the campaign A Fair Tax on Flying managed to get 200,000 people to write to their MP asking for the lowering or abolition of APD. They were joined by the influential campaign group the Taxpayers' Alliance.