loss of tax free flight duty pay
 

I just had a letter in the post from FLYBE management today saying that the inland revenue have basically decided to remove the tax free portion of our FDP in effect a pay cut for all us cabin crew.
The letter goes on to say this is going to be an aviation wide issue so has anyone from any other airline had the letter yet? What do you think? Cant afford to bring home less money than the £900-£1100 take home i get at the moment. Any comments? What are unions doing about this?

Haven't heard anything about that yet.
Hope it's not true!!!

Not that I doubt you but I thought the whole idea is that we are not under the british system all the time and therefore don't have to pay tax...is it legal for them to change it?

Anyway, if it's aviation wide I'm sure I'll hear about it pretty soon...

Well here is a few quotes from one of the three letters i received.

"Whilst flybe were seeking approval to apply the more beneficial BA connect tax free dispensation on FDA, HRMC confirmed in their letter of 23 march that with effect from 6 april they had taken the decision to remove FLYBE effective 84% tax free dispensation on FDA"

"I would like to emphasise that the HRMC review of FDA is an issue affecting the aviation industry across the uk and is certainly not unique to flybe this has been confirmed by our professional advisers"

"your FDA will be taxed at the marginal rate of tax from 6 April as FDA is paid a month in arrears the first change will be reflected in Mays pay"

"Please note these changes only apply to UK crews"

so not only are we losing tax free,for those who were taxed,are actually going to be paying MORE tax on it?i remember before when BACON was taxed,there was only a certain percentage that was taxed or something complicated like that.
I hate this country and their taxes.absolute Scum.the sooner i can get out the better.

I'm long haul and have heard nothing from my airline who are usually darn hot at keeping us informed. We all use different lingo, so do you mean FDA is like flight allowances (i.e our spending money down route?), just that it took years to make that tax free, so not sure if I quite understand what you mean!

This is what is referred to in the letter,but i think what they mean is flight duty pay - so sector pay,hourly flight pay.

OK. Well at my airline, I as a Manager get £22.50 per sector, which I have always been taxed on. Is this the same?

work for ba, we already have our allowances taxed, recieved an email yest saying that they were going to DECREASE the amount they tax us!!!! rite result.
when i worked charter our hourly rate was taxtable, i cant think of an airline that has tax free flight pay???
anyone????

BA Connect in the last 6 months flight pay was tax free.

My flight allowances (approx £7k PA) have been tax free for about 6 years, which is great, but not so great when trying to get a loan or mortgage as this can not be added as part of your salary. Really hope we're not going to be taxed on them again. No word from Union on this either.

Hmmm. Around 2 years ago I heard that Gordon Brown was looking into removing the tax free situation with FDAs. Up to now it has largely depended on your company's local tax office and what they have agreed with the Airline.
Brown has decided that it is to be regarded as a "benefit in kind" and as such should be taxed! I understand that if you are able to produce receipts clearly showing that your FDAs have been spent on downroute living then the Revenue may give you some credit.
Just another Labour scam I am afraid. All the while when they are spending our taxes on their own allowances!!!:{

Well I work for BA and my allowances are tax free! 100%! Don't know why you are paying tax!? Are you LHR or LGW?

Yes Pax Agent, I'm with Virgin and after much campaiging with the government, they switched to tax free eventually. We also get an additional £400 tax free P/A for hoisery and make-up.

i dont think its very fair.the majority of our flight duty pay/allowances are earned OUTSIDE this country,therefore why should we give Gordon Brown MORE money because they've f**ked up with their spending over the last 10 years. :mad: :mad: :mad:

at my airline our FDA and commission is only 35% taxable...i assumed it was the same at all airlines but obviously not...

It might be worth raising with your payroll dept/Union why this is. You could mention that you know for a fact that Virgin and BA have 100% tax free allowances and no mention of that stopping, why is your airline different? There may be a very good reason, and I'm sure you'll want to know what it is. Sounds unfair to me and IMHO the tax office should owe you a nice juicy rebate!

As you may or may not know, BA Connect and Flybe have recently merged. Flybe were being taxed on their Flight Duty Pay,whereas BA Connect were not. The reasons the enquiries were being made with HMRC were so that Flybe could adopt the tax free Flight Duty Pay that BA Connect had. However, it is these enquiries which have raised the issue of tax payable of Flight Duty Pay, and the letters stated that it would apply to all airlines in the UK,and not just Flybe.
I remember one of the letters mentioning something to do with the company making a profit, i'll have to look at it and reread it.

I've worked for a few airlines and the allowances and tax paid on them varies considerably. At one airline I was told that longhaul allowances are taxed less than short haul, as we are out of the country and have no choice but to buy meals in restaurants etc, which is what the allowances are for. With short haul, you get the money but mostly go home and eat at home, so the allowances aren't spent on high cost restaurant meals.

I'm with Virgin now. Our allowances are tax free paid down route, but not very much, certainly less than I got when I flew long haul charter. Sector pay is paid into our salary and all of that is taxable at the standard rate. I guess that's because that money isn't meant to feed us downroute. Of course, allowances are paid in foreign currency, so we lose out when we change any leftovers back into sterling.

If the allowances are tax free, you can't claim to earn that and if you apply for a loan or mortgage, then they go by your salary and don't count the tax free allowances.

Didn't dear Gordon just announce that the 10% tax bracket is disappearing, so we'll be paying more tax anyway shortly. You've got to love him :mad:

Hope that something is sorted out soon our May salary is going to look very sad indeed and if it doesnt improve will have to think about leaving for a better paid job.

Flightpay
 

I Had Conversation With Inland Revenue(hmrc) Only Yesterday And
They Said It Is Being Reviewed,over All Airlines, With A View That The Airlines Will All Be Treated The Same As There Are Too Many Different Rates Being Used. However It Has Not Been Withdrawn Yet
And No Date Had Been Set At This Point In Time,advise That You Union People Approach Hmrc And Perhaps Get A Uniform Agreement For All Airlines.