Should the UK be taxing aviation fuel, asks Katherine Dunseath and Richard Macrory
Aviation fuel is currently not taxed. Many have argued that taxation should be introduced as part of the policy response to climate change, but equally it is said that this is not something the UK could do on its own because of international legal constraints. Governments and industry sometimes disguise policy reluctance with the cloak of legal difficulties, and it is therefore important to unravel what a country such as the UK can or cannot do as a matter of law. It does not necessarily follow that aviation fuel tax is a sensible or politically possible policy, but at least it is possible to clarify the legal background.
The law governing a refuelling tax is complex, being subject to both EU and international law. But it is clear that changes have occurred at EU level in the last three years which now offer far greater opportunities for the implementation of a refuelling tax without the need for complicated international treaty changes or multi-lateral negotiation.
Two key developments, in
