City of Edinburgh Council draws up plans for first tourist tax in UK
plans for what would be the first tourist tax in the UK are set to be unveiled for Edinburgh within weeks.
Council leader Adam Mcvey revealed the business case for the levy – forecast to raise £15 million a year – was almost complete and that the authority was preparing to launch a consultation on the plans with the city’s tourism businesses.
He said: “Very soon we will be going out to the industry to get their view on the structure of what we’re thinking about and the mechanism and how it’s spent.
“We need to get the message across that in order to sustain the most thriving hospitality sector per head in the world, probably we need to continue to invest in the things that make it a success story.”
Mr Mcvey confirmed the council’s commitment to the tourist tax as he outlined the priorities of the Snp-labour administration for the next six months.
Other key policies he said would be taken forward include plans to tackle traffic pollution with a low emission zone, moves to make the city centre more pedestrian and cycle friendly through the Central Edinburgh Transformation project and a pledge to get on top of the social care crisis, which saw failings in the city slated by inspectors last year. He said the tourist tax was a key part of the programme agreed by the Snp-labour coalition after the local elections in May last year. But previous attempts to persuade ministers to hand the council the power to introduce the levy have been unsuccessful.
Mr Mcvey said: “We have been asking for this for at least six years and getting not very far. Our approach this time is different. It’s more profession detailed al and hopefully that will carry the day.”
Edinburgh has been under pressure on social care since May last year when inspectors rated five out of nine aspects of care provision were rated “unsatisfactory” or “weak”.
A survey by The Scotsman’s sister paper the Edinburgh Evening News last year found potholes, litter and bin collections were the main sources of residents’ dissatisfaction with public services.