Paying a visit
Peter Brown All they have to fear is sphere itself.
Alex Kemp Buy them a ticket to the International Space Station.
Liz Bryson I wonder what’s underneath the flat Earth? How far would you need to dig, before you fell out? Are there ladders around the edges in the event of such eventualities? It’s plausible I suppose . . . Not nuts at all . . .
Eddie Orme There goes the round the world cruise.
John Moonie They boast of having members all around the world. Once any law is on the books about fleecing the public, then there’s an immediate call to raise it. At the end of this parliament, don’t be surprised if the minimum price is £1, or that there are calls for this amount.
Francis Ferguson This policy is not designed to stop the hardened drinker completely. It will, however, reduce the amount of high strength cheap alcohol sold and consumed.
Finn Mccolgan Drinking to excess and associated anti-social behaviour has nothing to do with the price of alcohol. It is to do with culture and the unwillingness of some people to take responsibility for themselves and their actions.
Alastair Browne It will just work the same way as cigarette laws have changed – i.e. a child has more chance of getting enough money to buy ten cigarettes than 20 so that’s why ten-packs have been banned. The same law will affect cheap alcohol. Definitely a step in the right direction. You can’t criticise a government for trying to protect its kids.
Michael Ross What next? Tea and coffee tax on its way to curb teeth staining and ease the strain on dentists.
saor alba in the UK Scotland has the worst drink problem, the worst health record and the fattest kids in Europe. We are sleepwalking to disaster and are kidding ourselves if we believe token legislation such as this is going to stop it. Labour has urged the Scottish Government to bring forward plans for a tourist tax in Scotland after councils backed the move. The party said the levy on hotel stays would enable local authorities to raise tens of millions of pounds. They are talking about a maximum of £2 per night, which is hardly an extravagant spend – coffees cost more than that. I’d much rather people had to pay an extra £2pn which can help put a much-needed amount of money back into our services.
Lindsay Mcmaster Nothing says welcome like extra taxes!
Bev Allen Rome has a tourist tax of 4 euros pppn and the tourists hardly stay away from there. It’s hardly going to drive people away. Edinburgh will always be major attraction but I’m not sure that it should be considered outwith the central belt, where the effects could be greater than any potential benefits.
Hugh Smith You could hurt tourism that way. We’re tourists and we spend our money at the local stores, accommodation, pubs, restaurants, museums and other places. How much more do you want, or do you want to kill the golden goose by chasing us away?
Mike Campbell All for this. The money raised should be used by local councils to invest in the upkeep of the local infrastructure. Edinburgh’s roads are almost as bad as an Icelandic gravel track. We get charged a city tax almost anywhere in Europe, now it’s only fair we do the same.
Chris Cooper-mitchell