The Chancellor is expected to give a boost to the UK high street today in his Budget, but there is no hint yet of whether he will make any cuts to Air Passenger Duty (APD).
Philip Hammond will announce a cut in business rates for almost half a million small retailers, amounting to a £1.5bn boost to high-street traders, in his Budget statement this afternoon.
The industry is waiting to see whether the Budget will mention any changes to APD.
Last week, ABTA asked its members to write to their MPs, while the leaders of the five main political parties in Northern Ireland have written to Theresa May to seek the abolition of the tax.
The letter, signed by DUP leader Arlene Foster among others, urges the PM to ‘convince the Chancellor to take the necessary steps to deliver what would be an economic game-changer for all our people.
The letter added: "We speak as one, believing the advantage of removing the tax far outweighs the disadvantages."
Conservative MP Priti Patel told talkRADIO’s Julia Hartley-Brewer that the tax has had a ‘distortionary and negative’ impact on tourism and smaller, regional airports and called for its ‘outright abolition’.
