British holidaymakers are having up to £1.5 billion slashed from them by the taxman as they travel out of the country on holidays, it has been revealed.

Figures from the TaxPayers’ Alliance suggest that each of the 45 million foreign holiday trips made by people from the UK a year fetches the taxman an average of £30.

It suggested further that a family of four travelling to America for the summer holidays would pay a tax of more than £200 on their holiday purchases.

This, it said, is equal to paying for the trip of an extra child.

The Alliance added that while travel insurance was subject to insurance premium tax, the total bill included pre-holiday purchases which were subject to VAT.

Flights were also subject to air passenger duty airport departure tax.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance chief executive, Mathew Elliot explained that the credit crunch and rising food and fuel prices were making it more difficult for people to afford a worthy summer holiday abroad than ever.