Evening Standard Ed Vaizey 15.12.22 Last week, Jeremy Hunt unveiled the “Edinburgh Reforms”, with the aim of revolutionising the UK’s financial service sector, seizing the benefits of Brexit and promoting growth. Today, in the House of Lords, I will be making the case for the Chancellor to take another look at the tax-free shopping scheme as a vital growth measure. The Chancellor … Read More
Tax-free shopping deserves a second look
The Times Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown 15.11.22 When the chancellor cancelled most of the proposals in the poorly-received former Growth Plan, he calmed the markets. But he also threw away one growth measure that had been widely welcomed — the reintroduction of tax-free shopping. Restoring tax-free shopping for international visitors was set to deliver a multi-billion pound boost to Britain’s tourism, … Read More
UK executives stunned as chancellor shreds ‘pro-business’ mini-Budget
Financial Times Daniel Thomas, Jim Pickard, Oliver Barnes 17.10.22 Paul Barnes, chief executive of the Association of International Retail, said the decision to reverse plans to reintroduce VAT-free shopping for international visitors “will come as a hammer blow to UK tourism and the British high street”. To read more, click here.
Fashion retail calls for stability following emergency fiscal plan
Drapers Zoe Hu and Sabina Weston The government announced plans last month to consult on introducing a new tax-free shopping scheme for Great Britain, and said it would modernise the one in place in Northern Ireland. The government abolished the VAT Retail Export Scheme (RES) on 31 December 2020, when the Brexit transition period ended, arguing that it offered little benefit to many … Read More
VAT free shopping U-turn ‘major blow’ for West End as tourists shun London for Paris and Milan
Emily Hawkins 20.10.22 Scrapping VAT free shopping for tourists is a “major blow” for London and the country’s economy, a group representing luxury stores in the West End and other retail hotspots has said. Paul Barnes, chief executive of the Association of International Retail (AIR) – whose members range from Bicester Airport to Heathrow Airport – told CityA.M. the policy had been “one … Read More
Everything that Jeremy Hunt has thrown out of the mini-Budget
The Telegraph Tim Wallace, Hannah Boland, Charlotte Gifford, Lauren Almeida and Eir Nolsoe 17.10.22 Tourists will not benefit from the return of tax-free shopping to Britain as Mr Hunt sought to claw back £2bn in savings, prompting fierce criticism from industry leaders. Retailers said the U-turn would be a hammer blow to tourism and the high street. Paul Barnes, chief … Read More
UK falling behind EU rivals on tourist spending after duty chances
Financial Times Daniel Thomas 07.03.22 Britain is losing its position as the favoured destination for high spending international tourists to the EU after the government abolished tax-free shopping at the start of last year, according to a new study. Global Blue, the tax-free shopping refund agency, compared the behaviour of Gulf state tourists in the EU in 2019 with their … Read More
AIR joins new Coalition for International Travel
AIR joined with other businesses to launch a new, economy-wide coalition which believes strongly inthe business case for international travel and its role in a rapid recovery for the UK. The group wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, Rt Hon Boris Johnson, informing him of the importance of international travel to the UK economy. The industry supports hundreds of … Read More
Bosses beg Rishi Sunak to bail out TfL after threat to axe Tube lines
The Times 05/12/21 AIR joined eighty business and charity leaders to urge Rishi Sunak to extend his Covid-19 bailout to Transport for London this week to avoid derailing the government’s levelling up agenda. The financial lifeline the chancellor threw to TfL during the pandemic ends on Saturday and, without a solution, London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has warned that one of … Read More
A global city needs a global advantage
Evening Standard 16/11/21 As Chairman of AIR and CEO of the New West End Company, Jace Tyrrell knows what makes a world capital tick, and here he argues for a simpler visa process for the millions of overseas visitors to London. As Christmas shopping kicks into gear across the capital, retailers and leisure operators alike will be hoping for a … Read More