Letter to the Chancellor from MPs: Private jet taxation
The Rt Hon John Healey MP
Dear Chancellor,
We are writing to you as Members of Parliament to urge you to do all you can to support measures to ease the burden of the high cost of living on ordinary people across the UK, including our constituents. We suggest that a fair, effective and popular way to raise funds for measures to reduce the cost of living would be to increase the Air Passenger Duty (APD) that private jet passengers pay to the same level, as a proportion of the cost of those flights, as the tax levied on ordinary passengers travelling on commercial flights.
By taxing private jets at the same effective rate as regular flights, and ending the tax exemption on private jet fuel, the exchequer could receive £2.7 billion, which could be used on measures to support people across the country. This figure reflects the exact sum which, in July 2026, the research and innovation foundation, Nesta, estimated is needed to wipe out the backlog of consumer energy debts, providing debt relief for 2 million households and removing the need for all households to pay to cover the cost of unpaid energy bills.
Alternatively, the tax take from properly taxing private jets could be used to reduce the energy bills of 18 million households by £150, or could be used to alleviate the cost of living crisis in other ways. The potential increased tax take from private jets, for example, is around 16 times what it would cost to cover the lunches of every child eligible for free school meals over the summer.*
Such measures would enjoy broad public support; polling by Survation carried out in June found that 63% of the population are worried about their household energy and heating costs. 58% of the public would support private jet taxation being used to reduce energy bills, with just 16% opposing.
The Prime Minister’s focus on tackling cost of living pressures is extremely welcome, but this must be funded without cutting essential programmes elsewhere. Private jets are an extremely polluting form of travel, which are used by only the wealthiest few, while millions of people across the UK struggle to afford the daily essentials. Nor is it the case that private jet flights are essential for business and driving growth; research has found a strong correlation with luxury holiday destinations. Properly taxing these luxury leisure flights to fund cost of living measures would send a message to working families across the UK that they are being prioritised.
The higher rate of APD, which is levied on most private jet flights, from April 2027 will only be £147 for shorter journeys, and £1178 for the longest journeys. To put into perspective just how low this is, even short journeys by private jet can cost the hirer tens of thousands of pounds, while longer flights can cost up to £20,000 per hour. This means the actual tax rate on these flights is incredibly low, compared to their cost - orders of magnitude below the rate our constituents pay on their annual family holidays. This is an unfairness that must be remedied. In addition, not a single penny is charged in tax on all the fuel burned by private jets. It is impossible to justify a system in which someone driving to work pays more tax on their journey than a billionaire does for a private jet flight.
Our constituents are feeling the effects of both the climate crisis and the spiralling cost of living, with households struggling to stay cool over the summer, pay energy bills and put food on the table. This is not simply an environmental issue. It is a question of fairness.
We therefore urge you to increase the higher rate of APD for private jet passengers in the upcoming Budget, sending a message that fairness matters and that the UK is building a tax system fit for the serious challenges our constituents face. We look forward to your leadership on this issue.
Yours sincerely,
Adrian Ramsey MP - Waveney Valley
Bell Rebeiro-Addy MP - Clapham and Brixton Hill
Ben Lake MP - Ceredigion Preseli
Carla Denyer MP - Bristol Central
Chris Hinchcliff MP - North East Hertfordshire
Iqbal Mohamed MP - Dewsbury and Batley
Nadia Whittome MP - Nottingham East
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP - Poole
Rachael Maskell MP - York Central
Sarah Champion MP - Rotherham
Will Stone MP - Swindon North
*12.2 million children are eligible for free school meals. The cost is £2.30 to £2.50 per meal (£2.30 is the in-school value in England, £2.50 is a rounder figure some holiday schemes use), so assuming the higher figure, this comes out at £165 million. This does not include the costs of delivery and admin