[ad_1]
In 2022, spending in the UK by visitors from Gulf states – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – was still 35pc below its pre-Covid level, but had doubled in France and was up 66pc in Italy.
In 2019, American tourists spent £4.1bn in the UK, according to VisitBritain. Those from the UAE spent £870m, taking the total haul to £5bn – although this includes all spending, not just on potentially VAT-free goods.
Douglas McWilliams, of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, estimated that Britain will lose one million tourists and £3bn this year as a result of the changes – a figure which he said could turn out to be too cautious.
He said: “Obviously, lots of things have been going on and this is only partial data.
“But it does corroborate my analysis pre Covid that there would be a very significant loss of tourism and tourist revenue if the VAT export rebate was abandoned.”
John Holland-Kaye, the chief executive of Heathrow Airport, said: “Having a proper tax-free shopping incentive for visitors is about how much of the international tourist spend Britain wants to capture. Every other country in Europe is eating Britain’s lunch.
“Right now a 20pc ‘sale’ sign flies over Europe while the tourist tax hangs over the UK. Ministers should even the playing field with Europe, recapturing the UK’s fair share of tourist spend to drive growth and create jobs across Britain.”
Figures released on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics showed that the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has more headroom for tax cuts than previously anticipated.
Government borrowing stood at £139.2bn in the financial year to March 2023 – less than the £152.4bn predicted a month ago by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. Ruth Gregory, of Capital Economics, said the outturn provided “more wiggle room to cut taxes/raise spending ahead of the next general election.”
Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, is expected to prioritise making permanent a three-year tax break for business investment.
However, Mr Hunt signalled on Tuesday that he would stick to his plan to get debt down, as he described borrowing of £21.5bn in March alone as “eye-watering”.
[ad_2]
Source link