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Prospect of stealth tax on enjoying beauty spots
The Government is secretly planning a new stealth tax on enjoying Britain’s scenery and views.
Documents seen by the Sunday Mirror under a Freedom of Information Act request reveal the Taxation of Scenic Heritage (ToSH) scheme could start exactly a year today on April 1, 2019.
Visitors making the most of the UK countryside could pay as much as £5 for the privilege of a nice view.
The public will be required to load an official £5.99 Apple or Android app on to a smartphone or tablet before visiting a scenic destination.
When visitors arrive at any one of 500 designated national viewpoints an on-site beacon will detect the app. Then revolutionary mood sensors – developed at the Alp Floor I lab at Nottingham’s Menda City tech hub – will rate how much you enjoy the view on a scale of one to five.
If, for example, you are at Durdle Door in Dorset on a sunny summer’s day, that might score 5/5. At £1 per point, you’ll be taxed £5. But a wet weekend at Loch Ness which leaves you feeling fed up, might rate 2/5, prompting a £2 levy. ToSH spokeswoman Phyllis Stein said that it was the Government’s duty to maximise revenue streams, adding: ‘‘This is blue sky thinking.”
The proposals have provoked a backlash. Chair of rural watchdog Freedom Inside British Scenery (FIBS), Seymour Cleerely, said: ‘‘It’s a terribly short-sighted move.” offthemap.travel Teva women’s Original Universal Sandal, £35,teva.co.uk
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