'Taxation of ST is coming anyway completely independent to this industrial action. We are now in Europe. The Europeans have have had a different view on this for some time and many countries already heavily tax ST. It is only a question of when and not if. '
It's here already and there is no presumption to the effect that European S&T taxation, which is not standard throughout the zone anyway, would be better or worse than that of the UK. The point is surely that if HMRC start taxing even an economy ticket, say LAX/LHR/LAX or JNB/LHR/JNB as a benefit, the amounts involved, perhaps 40% of the ticket value, are going to be enormous. The cost to the employee is likely to be significant as he/she may well be issued an erstwhile free ticket to and from work but will then have to end up paying the tax on that ticket as though its real street cost were part of that employees salary packet.