Review of Local Government Finance recommends ‘tourism tax’
A Fairer Way
Recommendations for a ‘tourism tax’ were put forward in the independent Review of Local Government Finance, entitled "A Fairer Way", published on 9 November.
Chaired by Sir Peter Burt, the Review was established in June 2004 and its purpose is ‘to identify the pros and cons of implementing any changes to the local taxation system in Scotland, including the practicalities and the implications for the rest of the local government finance system and any wider economic impact, and to make recommendations.’
One of the recommendations states that ‘consideration should be given to introducing a discretionary power for local authorities to apply a tourism tax’. The next step in the process is that the report will be passed to Scottish Ministers for their consideration.
At a time when we have agreed a shared tourism industry ambition to grow revenues by 50 per cent by 2015, there is concern that the introduction of a ‘tourism tax’ could hinder this ambition and damage one of Scotland’s most successful areas of economic activity. However, VisitScotland welcomes the debate about funding for tourism promotion and development and will review the Review’s findings in full and in the context of this shared ambition.
Scottish Ministers will now consider the Review’s recommendations, including the proposed ‘tourism tax.’. We do not expect any ministerial decision on the Review before summer 2007; however, we will provide an update as soon as a timetable is known.
Details of the Review can be found at: www.localgovernmentfinancereview.org
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