Scottish hospitality wins six-month tourism tax reprieve

THE Scottish government has granted a sixmonth pause on the introduction of the local visitor levy, widely known as the tourism tax, leaving hospitality businesses the chance to capitalise on bookings before the penalty is imposed in June this year.

The decision follows lobbying from representative hospitality bodies including the Bed & Breakfast Association (BBA) and UKHospitality. BBA chairman David Weston says, “At the end of December they agreed on a six-month pause before introducing the licensing scheme.”

He says that despite intensive lobbying by his association and other trade bodies, raising a great many concerns about it and protesting against it, these concerns were ignored. But he says, “They finally agreed to a six-month pause, which is not a total victory but it obviously does help, because it allows more time for people to adapt to the new rules.”

The local government said the pause will give them a chance to change the guidance and to make sure it is consistent between local authorities, he says. “It's to be implemented by 32 different local authorities and there are lots of inconsistencies that we pointed out, and they will iron those out. It's limited, but it's a good thing for small B&Bs.”

He claims that while the BBA lobbied the authorities against the new tax, it advised they that if they were to introduce such a levy then they should go for a light-touch registration scheme. “They didn’t listen,” he says. “They went for a full local licensing, which means you've now got 32 different versions of the tax, which is horrendous.” And he warns that a similar tourism tax is now being threatened in Wales. “We put in a big submission to them against such a Bill. So, if they do bring them in, there are a lot of practical points that they've got to bear in mind,” he says finding themselves with hard financial decisions to make, it warns. generous show discounts, it’s a glittering showcase. advice and help you choose the perfect equipment to suit your requirements. Please call in at the SPATEX Help Desk at the entrance to the exhibition hall and the team will point you in the right direction.

ADDING to the woes of the impending tourism tax, Scottish hospitality businesses are now operating at a significant disadvantage to counterparts in England and Wales as a result of the Scottish Government’s reluctance to support businesses, according to UKHospitality.

In a letter to the Finance and Public Administration Committee, UKHospitality Scotland underlined the urgent need for shortterm business rates relief, in order to diminish the jeopardy many businesses face.

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UKHospitality Scotland executive director Leon Thompson says: “The decisions facing Scottish hospitality businesses early this year are stark, and will prove fatal for many. Cost increases are seemingly endless for venues, whether that’s losing current levels of energy support in April, business rates continuing to increase, or food and drink supplies costing record amounts.

Scottish businesses have not benefitted from any business rates relief since June last year, it says, while English businesses have been supported by relief since the pandemic and will continue to be supported by up to 75% relief on business rates in the coming financial year.

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This support in England resulted in Barnett consequentials of £1.5 billion, yet none of that money has been allocated to support hospitality, according to the non-government representative body for tourism business, according to UKHospitality. It adds that the UK Government’s announcement to significantly reduce the energy support available to businesses from 1 April will deliver a “major financial blow” to Scottish hospitality. On top of rateable values increasing for many and a lack of relief, hospitality venues are

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“While no business in the UK is free from the effects in inflation, it’s becoming clear that the inaction and lack of business rates relief from the Scottish Government means we are falling quite sharply behind England and Wales.

“For example, rateable values in Scotland appear to have risen almost across the board in Scotland, while the opposite seems to be true in England. We’ve heard from members that many are set to pay tens of thousands more in business rates here, compared to similar businesses in England.

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“This is not sustainable and will have long-term ramifications for Scottish hospitality. If running a business in Scotland permanently becomes more expensive, with no relief for businesses, we could see investment suddenly diverted away from the sector and a loss of skilled workers in Scottish hospitality.”

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