New campaign calls for VAT cut on UK hotels and tourist attractions
The tourism industry has launched a major campaign to cut VAT on hotel accommodation and tourist attractions to 5% to help Britain’s ‘regions’.
The Give Us A Break campaign is backed by The Sun newspaper, tourism firms and MPs from all parties.
It is calling on Chancellor George Osborne to reduce the tax so the regions dependent on tourism can invest in jobs and offer a better deal to tourists.
It claims the reduction to 5% – which complies with EU law – would make domestic holidays cheaper for Britons and the UK tourism industry more competitive internationally in the face of the strengthening pound.
Thousands of supporters range from industry bodies such as the BHA and BALPA, to small B&Bs, family run attractions, zoos and major international brands.
The campaign says Britain is now only one of four European countries to not have cut holiday taxes – and one of them, Lithuania is cutting its VAT next year.
While the UK government insists on charging all holidaymakers with 20% VAT, countries like Portugal, Holland and Belgium levy just 6% tax on all hotels, holiday camps and tourist attractions.
France and Spain charge 10% tax on staying in hotels and holiday parks, while VAT in Germans hotels is just 7%.
Dermot King, managing director at Butlins, said: "We need to recognise that tourism isn’t just the country’s biggest employer of young people or the social heart of hundreds of towns, but the economic driver of many British regions.
"This is about investing in the future of those areas – where hotels and attractions are potentially the lifeblood of economic recovery – so that our improving business climate can benefit everyone and not just the South East."
Diane
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