David Jessop, executive director of the Caribbean Council, says Jamaica and the wider Caribbean have proved their capacity to mount an effective lobbying effort over the United Kingdom's (UK) Air Passenger Duty (APD) increase.

Slated to come into effect in November, the travel tax increase would discriminate against the Caribbean by forcing UK passengers travelling to the Caribbean to pay more than those going to almost any part of the United States.

Jessop said that, for the first time, the regional diaspora had united its efforts against the tax and forced the British government to reassess its position.

Speaking at the Diaspora Dialogue Think Tank held in London in September, Jessop pointed to the contradictions in the UK government positions on the issue.

Increased flight tax

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling told the House of Commons in his Pre-Budget Presentation on November 24, 2008, that the flight tax to the Caribbean would increase by between 25 per cent and 87 per cent, depending upon the class of travel. By November 2010 those increases could reach as high as 94 per cent.

The band into which each country falls is based on the distance of its capital from London, so all of the United States is regarded as being closer to the United Kingdom than is the Caribbean.

This issue mobilised thousands and got their voices heard, Jessop said.

Battle far from over

The Finance Bill has now become law and APD banding will come into force on November 1, but the battle is far from over, Jessop said. "There is still an opportunity to have the banding modified in the 2010/11 UK budget so that the Caribbean has parity at that time with the US.

"The Chancellor of the Exchequer has an opportunity in his November budget statement to reband the Caribbean."

The September Diaspora Dialogue at which Jessop spoke concluded with a recommendation to redouble the lobbying efforts to secure a review of the APD.

The London Think Tank targeted top business leaders in the UK and Jamaica, members of the Jamaican expatriate community and persons with economic, academic and political backgrounds related to the diaspora.

GraceKennedy and Victoria Mutual Building Society joined forces with Jamaica National Building Society and the University of the West Indies to host the one-day session.