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Significant safeguards must precede any government visitor levy on English overnight accommodation to protect jobs and economic growth, according to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Hospitality and Tourism’s inquiry.
The parliamentary inquiry, which published its findings yesterday (30 July) after examining evidence from councils, trade bodies and major businesses, concluded that a proposed 5% levy risks reducing tourism spending, investment and employment, with coastal and rural destinations facing the highest impact.
In light of this, the report recommended completing a full regulatory impact assessment and pre-legislative scrutiny before devolving levy powers to mayoral authorities.
Parliamentarians also called for hospitality VAT to drop to 10%, a consistent national framework, strict ringfencing of revenues for destination investment and a minimum 12-month implementation period.
Chris Webb, chair of the APPG, said: “This report makes clear the concerns that exist across the tourism and hospitality sectors about the potential impact of a visitor levy. If the government chooses to proceed with the levy, it must be designed with fairness, consistency and genuine engagement with the industry.
“I hope the Government will give serious consideration to the recommendations in this report and learn from its findings.”
Allen Simpson, chief executive of UKHospitality, added: “The evidence gathered by this inquiry shows that introducing a new tax without the right safeguards risks increasing the cost of family holidays, reducing visitor demand and undermining investment at a time when businesses are already under significant pressure.
“There is an urgent need to consider the unintended consequences of a visitor levy and the practical recommendations set out in this report to mitigate its impact. If the government chooses to proceed, it must address the sector’s wider tax burden, establish a consistent national framework and ensure revenue is transparently reinvested in growing the visitor economy.”
Significant safeguards must precede any government visitor levy on English overnight accommodation to protect jobs and economic growth, according to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Hospitality and Tourism’s inquiry.
The parliamentary inquiry, which published its findings yesterday (30 July) after examining evidence from councils, trade bodies and major businesses, concluded that a proposed 5% levy risks reducing tourism spending, investment and employment, with coastal and rural destinations facing the highest impact.
In light of this, the report recommended completing a full regulatory impact assessment and pre-legislative scrutiny before devolving levy powers to mayoral authorities.
Parliamentarians also called for hospitality VAT to drop to 10%, a consistent national framework, strict ringfencing of revenues for destination investment and a minimum 12-month implementation period.
Chris Webb, chair of the APPG, said: “This report makes clear the concerns that exist across the tourism and hospitality sectors about the potential impact of a visitor levy. If the government chooses to proceed with the levy, it must be designed with fairness, consistency and genuine engagement with the industry.
“I hope the Government will give serious consideration to the recommendations in this report and learn from its findings.”
Allen Simpson, chief executive of UKHospitality, added: “The evidence gathered by this inquiry shows that introducing a new tax without the right safeguards risks increasing the cost of family holidays, reducing visitor demand and undermining investment at a time when businesses are already under significant pressure.
“There is an urgent need to consider the unintended consequences of a visitor levy and the practical recommendations set out in this report to mitigate its impact. If the government chooses to proceed, it must address the sector’s wider tax burden, establish a consistent national framework and ensure revenue is transparently reinvested in growing the visitor economy.”
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It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution
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