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Leading hospitality and leisure CEOs have written a letter to the chancellor calling on the government to ditch plans for a tourist tax in England.
The 200 signatories include Butlin’s, Haven, Hilton, IHG Hotels and Resorts, Merlin Entertainments, Parkdean Resorts, Travelodge and Whitbread, who warn that the proposed visitor levy will “hit families hardest, put jobs at risk and drain money from local businesses and communities”.
The proposed tax would make Brits pay an extra £100 or more for a two-week holiday in the UK, which signatories say could pressure families to shorten trips, forgo travel entirely or spend their money elsewhere.
The letter said that the “UK’s hospitality sector is already under pressure, with rising business rates, energy costs, tax bills and employment costs”.
It added that the industry “already contributes billions of pounds in tax, through business rates, employment taxes and VAT, which at 20% is double the rate of competitors in France, Italy, Spain or Portugal”.
The letter also says the levy threatens communities in England whose economy depends on tourism, as a decrease in visitors could lead to a decrease in local jobs and spending at local businesses.
It added the impact will extend beyond accommodation providers and could harm cafes, pubs, taxi firms and shops, saying “in many places, it is tourist spending which keeps high streets alive”.
Allen Simpson, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “Holidays are for relaxing – not taxing. Whether you enjoy a city break, a rural retreat or building sandcastles on your beach holiday, you’re already paying your fair share of tax.
“In fact, it’s one of the highest tax rates for visitors in Europe and the holiday tax will only increase that further.”
She added: “We are so lucky to enjoy these wonderful islands and we should be encouraging people to visit every part of our country – not taxing them for doing so. The Government needs to scrap the holiday tax.”
Leading hospitality and leisure CEOs have written a letter to the chancellor calling on the government to ditch plans for a tourist tax in England.
The 200 signatories include Butlin’s, Haven, Hilton, IHG Hotels and Resorts, Merlin Entertainments, Parkdean Resorts, Travelodge and Whitbread, who warn that the proposed visitor levy will “hit families hardest, put jobs at risk and drain money from local businesses and communities”.
The proposed tax would make Brits pay an extra £100 or more for a two-week holiday in the UK, which signatories say could pressure families to shorten trips, forgo travel entirely or spend their money elsewhere.
The letter said that the “UK’s hospitality sector is already under pressure, with rising business rates, energy costs, tax bills and employment costs”.
It added that the industry “already contributes billions of pounds in tax, through business rates, employment taxes and VAT, which at 20% is double the rate of competitors in France, Italy, Spain or Portugal”.
The letter also says the levy threatens communities in England whose economy depends on tourism, as a decrease in visitors could lead to a decrease in local jobs and spending at local businesses.
It added the impact will extend beyond accommodation providers and could harm cafes, pubs, taxi firms and shops, saying “in many places, it is tourist spending which keeps high streets alive”.
Allen Simpson, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “Holidays are for relaxing – not taxing. Whether you enjoy a city break, a rural retreat or building sandcastles on your beach holiday, you’re already paying your fair share of tax.
“In fact, it’s one of the highest tax rates for visitors in Europe and the holiday tax will only increase that further.”
She added: “We are so lucky to enjoy these wonderful islands and we should be encouraging people to visit every part of our country – not taxing them for doing so. The Government needs to scrap the holiday tax.”
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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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