Tourist tax must go, urge business leaders in last-minute plea to MPs
A group of business leaders, including Gatwick Airport’s chief executive, have backed a letter by BusinessLDN making a final call to the government to scrap the so-called “tourist tax” days before the issue is set to be debated in parliament.
The lobby group, which represents some of London’s biggest firms, has asked Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to restore VAT-free shopping for international tourists immediately after a new study found that the UK is losing out to rivals such as France and Italy.
Recent figures from tax refund company Global Blue show that a staggering 10 per cent of UK spending by international visitors in 2019 has now been diverted to EU countries.
“The number of American shoppers in the UK is now back to 2019 levels but this lags far behind France, Spain and Italy, which have doubled their American visitor numbers,” BusinessLDN said.
“This gap between the UK and EU is also evident when it comes to visitors from the Gulf and China.”
The letter has been signed by a number of prominent business leaders including Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick Airport, Dee Corsi, head of the New West End Company, and Hugh Seaborn, chief of landlord Cadogan Estates.
Just yesterday, Simon Murphy, who runs the Battersea Power Station Development Company, told The Daily Telegraph that the UK was “shooting itself in the foot” by not axing the tax.
And the chief of Watches of Switzerland, Brian Duffy, previously told City A.M .the tourist tax was “probably the biggest single frustration” for the British retail sector.
Lobbying by various businesses, including the chief of handbag maker Mulberry has led to the issue being debated in Parliament this Thursday.
“The decision to end tax-free shopping in 2021 was deeply misguided,” said John Dickie, chief executive of BusinessLDN.
“The UK is now at a stark competitive disadvantage due to the fact we charge overseas shoppers 20 per cent more than our international neighbours for the same goods. Every country in the European Union offers this incentive.”