Calls for Scottish Government to cut air tax
There's a call from the Scottish Conservatives for the Scottish Government to cut air tax in Scotland by 50%.
Labour, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats have called for ministers to ditch the planned cut, arguing the move will benefit high earners rather than the most deprived.
Opposition parties highlighted their views ahead of a ministerial statement on air departure tax (ADT) at Holyrood on Thursday.
The new tax, which replaces air passenger duty in Scotland, will come into from April 2018.
The government has promised to cut the levy in half by the end of this Parliament, ahead of abolishing the charge altogether ''when resources allow''.
Ministers are due to set out the rates and bands for the new charge this autumn, with these requiring approval from MSPs.
Scottish Conservative finance secretary Murdo Fraser said: The SNP has lobbied for years to have this tax devolved so it could take some action.
Now that's happened, the Nationalists have to come good on their commitment to cut ADT by 50%.
We stand ready to support them on this matter - there is a Holyrood majority in favour of cutting this tax, which would deliver a boost to our economy.
There must be no backtracking on this commitment to our vital tourist industry.''
Scottish Labour transport spokesman Neil Bibby said an ADT cut would mean less funding for public services and a bonus for the wealthiest.
Cutting this tax also risks a race to the bottom across the UK,'' he said.
The Tory government needs no persuasion to cut taxes for the richest and their partners in the DUP want the tax abolished completely.''
The Scottish Greens previously warned that without a rethink on plans to slash the charges, the party's six MSPs may not deal with the minority SNP administration when it comes to budget talks next year.
Co-convener Patrick Harvie said: Today's statement is a chance for Scottish Ministers to show they are listening.
They must set the first rates and bands soon, and if it amounts to a tax cut for the airlines, they cannot expect to sit down with Green MSPs to agree a budget that implements those cuts.''
Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur said the cut was the wrong priority''.
It will deprive our schools and hospitals of funding and the Scottish Government has been utterly unable to explain how dramatically increasing airline emissions would help Scotland meet its climate commitments,'' he said.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman added: Improving Scotland's air connectivity is one of our top priorities - it will help build strong business links and provide a real boost to our tourism industry.
We will continue to promote Scotland as a destination which can sustain more direct air services and better global hub connectivity, and will work with Scotland's airports to achieve these objectives.
Our aim is to reduce the burden of ADT by 50% and to abolish the tax altogether when resources allow.'