Time to roll out red carpet for visitors
THE Chancellor has made a mess of dealing with the tax implications of ending the VAT refund for tourists. Britain relies heavily on foreign visitors and the money they spend in this country. we no longer have a large industrial footprint to bring in currency through exports and are dependent on the service industries, including hospitality and shopping. Failure to take advantage of the surge in visitor numbers for the Coronation and the currency exchange benefits is a self-inflicted shot in the foot. Tax-free shopping for tourists should be re-implemented immediately in order to take advantage of any possible boost to our coffers.
N. DIXON, Ellesmere Port, Wirral.
I’VE just come back from a break in Ireland. The country was bursting with American visitors and I soon realised why — all the shops had big signs: Tax-free shopping for tourists.
C. DANIElS, Maidenhead, Berks.
MY GRANDSoN was on holiday in Barcelona where he saw a designer watch he had fancied for a while. It is available in Britain, but he realised he would save a lot of money if he got it in Spain. He bought it on the spot and claimed back the VAT using forms supplied by the jeweller. The £400 refund was in his account before he arrived back home. The point is that by buying the watch abroad, he benefited the Spanish economy, not ours. So can Chancellor
Jeremy Hunt please explain why Britain is taxing tourists who want to buy high-end goods here?
J. WAlMSlEY, Bury, Gtr Manchester.
I CoULDN’T agree more about the sheer stupidity of levying a tourist tax when hospitality is still reeling after the Covid lockdowns and is struggling under extortionate energy costs.
It strikes me as ironic that London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants tourists’ shopping to be exempt from 20 per cent VAT. He cites damage to the capital’s economy, but this will surely suffer anyway when the planned expanded Ultra Low Emission Zone discourages visitors.