Tax-free Shopping Campaign Media Coverage
- The Telegraph - Britain losing £750m from Chinese holidaymakers because of tourist tax. [03.09.23]
- Daily Mail - Small businesses call on the government to scrap the tourist tax amid fears the UK could miss out on a Christmas shopping rush. [ 28.08.23]
- Retail Gazette - The real impact of scrapping tax-free shopping: Is change needed? [25.08.23]
- Daily Mail - The UK is missing out on a spending boom from Middle Eastern shoppers as visitors from Arab countries head to Rome and Paris to splash their cash tax-free, figures reveal. [ 25.08.23]
- The Telegraph - Tourist tax forcing US shoppers to abandon London. [14.08.23]
- Daily Mail - Retailers renew their plea to the Government to scrap the UK's tourist tax after China lifts its Covid-era ban on group tours of Britain. [11.08.23]
- Daily Mail - Zut alors! French luxury shops cash in as shoppers snub the UK over the controversial 'tourist tax'. [06.08.23]
- Daily Mail - Senior Tory MPs urge Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to launch assessment of tourist tax after research suggested scrapping the levy could give Britain a £ 10 billion boost. [06.08.23]
- The Times - Tourism tax takes its toll on Mulberry [05.08.23]
- Daily Mail - The UK could see a £5 billion Brexit boost if the controversial 'tourist tax' is scrapped, analysis finds. [02.08.23].
- The National News - UK 'tourist tax' has deterred two million visitors, report finds. [02.08.23]
- Evening Standard - Scrap the tourist tax and entice global shoppers [01.08.23]
JULY
- Daily Mail - Tourist tax report is a shot of common sense. [31.07.23]
- Daily Mail - Scrapping tourist tax 'would boost the economy by £10BILLION, support jobs and provide net gain to the Treasury' [30.07.23]
- Daily Mail - The tourist tax affects every high street in Britain... The case for scrapping it is overwhelming, writes ANDREW HINDS. [31.07.23]
- The Times - Tax-free tourist shopping ‘could boost the economy by £10bn’. [31.07.23]
- Fashion United - 350 Business leaders join call on government to reintroduce tax-free shopping. [31.07.23]
- Retail Gazette - Data: ‘Tourist tax’ costing UK £10.7bn in lost GDP & deterring 2m tourists a year. [31.07.23]
- The Stage - 'Tourist tax' losing UK two million overseas visitors a year – report. [31.07.23]
- Fashion Network - Tourist tax; Frasers buys more Boohoo; John Lewis adds key exec; Superdry new COO. [31.07.23]
- Forbes - Scrapping Tax-Free Shopping Is Costing Britain $14 Billion In Lost GDP, Says Report. [31.07.23]
- The Evening Standard - London bosses ramp up calls for Jeremy Hunt to axe ‘tourist tax’ making Paris, Madrid and Milan ‘winners’ [26.07.23] .
- Retail Gazette - Harvey Nichols CEO warns UK will ‘lose another summer’ in absence of tax-free shopping [24.07.23].
- Fashion United - Harvey Nichols CEO calls for return of tax-free shopping for tourists [24.07.23].
- City AM - The Notebook: Neil Clifford on dyslexia, profit with purpose and the greatest American asset [24.07.23].
- The Daily Mail - Visits to Oxford Street - Britain's busiest high street - plunges by nearly a fifth as plight fuels calls to ditch tourist tax [23.07.23].
- The Telegraph - France has been ‘really clever’ at luring tourists away from London, warns Harvey Nichols chief [23.07.23].
- Women’s Wear Daily – Lawmakers to debate return of tax-free shopping in the U.K. [20.07.23].
- Fashion United – Parliament sets date for debate on tax-free shopping [20.07.23].
- Daily Mail – Is the Chancellor finally listening to businesses? MPs to debate axing Tourist Tax in partial victory for companies campaigning for change [20.07.23].
- WWD - Lawmakers to Debate Return of Tax-free Shopping in U.K. [20.07.23]
- Drapers – Tax-free shopping parliament debate data revealed [20.07.23].
- Fashion Network – UK MPs to debate tourist tax issue in Parliament [20.07.23].
- Retail Gazette – MP to debate tax-free shopping in parliament [20.07.23].
- The Evening Standard - Luxury goods sector sounds alarm over hit from loss of VAT-free shopping [19.07.23].
- Priti Patel leads dozens of MPs and peers calling for Rishi Sunak to scrap the controversial 'tourist tax' [18.07.23].
- Mail Online – Thousands of jobs at risk across Britain as hotels and businesses reveal slump in overseas visitors after tax-free shopping scrapped by the Government [16.07.23].
- Head of British Chambers of Commerce believes 'door is ajar' for Government to scrap tourist tax after she lobbied a key adviser to Rishi Sunak [16.07.23].
- The Telegraph – Britain needs rich foreign visitors more than ever – the tourist tax is a disaster [15.07.23].
- The Times - Burberry fears downward trend as tourists shun London stores [14.07.23].
- The Evening Standard – Scrap the ‘Tourist Tax’: Brands investing in Britain deserve London at its most competitive [13.07.23].
- The Mail Online - 'Absolutely no question' tourist tax is holding back economy, warns Watches of Switzerland boss Brian Duffy [13.07.23].
- The Mail Online - How London's Oxford Street went from famous shopping destination to a 'national embarrassment' filled with tacky sweet shops [13.07.23].
- Property Week - Government must act to improve London tourism [06.07.23].
- The Stage – Ditch damaging ‘tourist tax’, say West End theatres and producers [05.07.23].
- The Daily Mail - Britain floundering as tourist tax bites [03.07.23].
- Heathrow Airport – Investor Report June 2023 [30.06.23].
- The Times – Tourist tax is hitting sales, says Mulberry [28.06.23].
- City A.M – Brands in London “suffering”: Fresh calls to scrap ‘tourist tax’ amid Mulberry losses [28.06.23].
- This is money - Mulberry profits slump as end of VAT-free shopping and tough economic conditions hit handbag firm's UK sales [28.06.23].
- Vogue Business – Lack of tax-free shopping stunts Mulberry’s UK growth [28.06.23].
- The Courier – Mulberry profits fall as UK sales struggle amid tourist tax hit [28.06.23].
- Fashion Network – French Luxury retail: store openings and property investments soared in 2022 [29.06.23].
- City AM - The Notebook: Sir Rocco Forte on the hated tourist tax, counteracting climate hysteria and Boris Johnson’s legacy [26.06.23].
- Top fashion brand to the stars lived by Dua Lipa backs demands to scrap the tourist tax [25.06.23].
- Andrew Lloyd Webber joins clamour to ditch the hated tourist tax as he adds his name to more than 320 business chiefs heaping pressure on the Chancellor [25.06.23].
- Mail Online - Scrap the tourist tax, Chancellor! More than 300 high street giants call on Jeremy Hunt to reinstate tax-free shopping for overseas tourists - supporting our campaign to give the economy the boost it so desperately needs [23.06.23].
- The Evening Standard – London roars back as businesses renew call to scrap tourist tax [22.06.23].
- The Evening Standard – Retail Friendly Oxford St Deal Struck [15.06.23]. [IN PRINT]
- Westminster Extra - ‘Oxford Street district’ prepares for its latest face-lift [16.06.23].
- Business Plus – Heathrow calls for tourist tax to be scrapped [14.06.23].
- The Daily Mail – Heathrow joins calls to bring back VAT-free shopping for tourists: Visitors spending double in France and Spain [13.06.23].
- Retail Insight Network – Retail royalty: unveiling London’s opulent realm of luxury shopping [13.06.23].
- Vogue Business – British Fashion Council issues call to arms as industry faces ‘severe challenges’ [09.06.23].
- The Evening Standard – Chelsea landlord Cadogan toasts growth as CEO calls for rethink on ‘tourist tax’ [07.06.23].
- On London – If VAT-free shopping returns it must benefit those who make London special [07.06.23]
- Fashion Network – New official figures show UK tourist visits still well behind 2019 [30.05.23].
- City AM – Scrap the tourist tax hurting our hospitality businesses or lose out to Paris and Madrid [30.05.23].
- The Telegraph – How London became the most expensive city in Europe for tourists [30.05.23].
- The Daily Mail – Britain’s much-hated ‘tourist tax’ is causing foreign visitors to part with less cash when in the UK, experts warn – while spending levels in France, Spain, Italy and Germany soar. [29.05.30].
- The Mail + - Jeweller to the stars: Tourist tax is killing trade in the capital [28.05.23].
- The Times – Call to restore tax-free shopping for tourists [27.05.23].
- The Evening Standard – Tourism to London bounces back…’but we still need VAT-free shopping’ [27.05.23].
- The Evening Standard – Luxury London: Various sectors and companies concerned about tourist tax [27.05.23].
- City AM – Retail sales up in April but analysts warn on implications of further rate hikes [26.05.23].
- The Fashion Network – New data shows end of UK VAT-free shopping again boost Europe [26.05.23].
- The Straits Times – UK losing out on tourism’s high spenders [25.05.23]
- National Association of Jewellers – Tax Free Shopping must return urges NAJ [25.05.23].
- The Evening Standard – Great Portland Estates boss joins call for rethink of tourist tax [24.05.23].
- The Mail Online – Now Harvey Nicks warns Britain is ‘losing its appeal’ as a shopping destination as visitors are deterred by the tourist tax [23.05.23].
- The Industry Fashion – It’s time for a tax-free shopping U-turn, Mr Sunak [23.05.23].
- The Times – U-turn hope on tax-free shopping boosts retailers [22.05.23].
- Forbes – Burberry Reigns in China But Slams UK Government Over Tax Free Shopping [19.05.23]
- LBC Radio – Nick Ferrari Show with Paul Scully MP [18.05.23]
- The Financial Times – Burberry warns UK losing ground to Europe after loss of tax break [18.05.23]
- The Telegraph – British shoppers are swapping London for Milan, says Burberry [18.05.23].
- The Mail Online – Minister breaks cover and calls for ‘tourist tax’ to be scrapped and admits ‘hundreds of millions of pounds’ are being lost by scrapping VAT-free shopping for international visitors [18.05.23].
- The Times – VAT’s not the way to do it, says Harrods [17.05.23].
- Retail Gazette – Harrods boss tells government to ‘stop burying its head’ and bring back tax-free shipping [17.05.23].
- Financial Accountant – Is the UK worse off since removing Vat refunds? [17.05.23].
- Evening Standard – Sunak’s silence on tax breaks for tourists is riling businesses [17.05.23].
- The Times – Call to revive tax-free shopping for tourists from head of VisitBritain [16.05.23]
- The Daily Mail – Trade minister appeals for retail bosses to share data on how hated ‘tourist tax’ is damaging Britain [16.05.23]
- Evening Standard – Minister calls for more data ahead of decision on ‘tourism tax’ [16.05.23].
- The Times – Minister mulls impact of tourism tax as demands grow for U-turn [16.05.23].
- The Times – Luxury goods trade body Walpole urges a return to tax-free shopping [16.05.23]
- Silicon - Global Blue Releases the Monthly Tax Free Shopping Business Update for April 2023 [11.05.23].
- The Scotsman – Chancellor must reverse decision to end tax-free shopping for visitors to UK [11.05.23].
- CGTN – UK businesses urge PM to reinstate tax-free shopping for overseas visitors [09.05.23]
- Drapers – Coronation boosts consumer confidence over bank holiday weekend [09.05.23].
- BBC South East Today – Evening News [03.05.23] Relevant feature starts at 07:15.
- The Mail Online – Tourist tax ‘deterring investment in the UK’: King Charles’ tailor warns absence of VAT-free shopping scheme is causing retailers to shun Britain [03.05.23].
- The Mail Online – Top hotels back call to cut the tourist tax: Savoy and Green King pub chain bosses join clamour to entice more visitors to the UK [03.05.23].
- Retail Times – MRI Springboard: Bank Holiday weekend drives footfall up +12.9% [02.05.23].
- The Express – When did the Civil Service turn into such a bunch of wimps? Asks Ann Widdecombe [02.05.23]
AIR in the news
Britain’s dying high streets: How almost TWENTY per cent of stores are lying empty in towns like Wigan as chains including M&S, B&M and Next shut up shop amid dire warnings they may never recover
Mark Duell
04.28.23
London’s Oxford Street has also been hurt by economic hits such as the coronavirus crisis, with major brands including Topshop, Debenhams and House of Fraser all closing branches.
Many vacancies in the capital’s West End are now filled with American candy stores on short term leases.
Experts said retailers were being ‘cautious and biding their time’ over opening new stores but also pointed out that the overall vacancy rate in Britain was 0.3 percentage points better than the same period last year.
It comes amid continued concerns over the future of UK high streets which have been crippled by competition from online retailers and out-of-town retail parks.
To read more, please click here.
Coronation weekend set to deliver £50m boost for West End
The Retail Gazette
Georgia Wright
04.28.23
King Charles’ coronation bank holiday weekend (6-8 May) is expected to generate up to £50m for London’s West End retail and hospitality businesses, according to estimates from the New West End Company (NWEC).
NWEC chief executive Dee Corsi said: “Uniquely British events, such as The King’s Coronation show our capital at its very best. We’re expecting a flood of domestic and international visitors drawn by the chance to be part of history.”
“The West End’s recovery is on track, but in order to ensure it remains globally competitive, the UK needs to increase its appeal to high spending international visitors. We strongly encourage the Government to consider low-cost growth measures, such as a reconsideration of the abolition of tax-free shopping and an extension of Sunday Trading Laws, to guarantee the long-term success of Britain’s tourist economy.”
To read more, please click here.
‘Slash taxes or tourists will shun the hotspots’
The Times
Isabella Fish & Mehreen Khan
04.27.23
Last autumn, when Jeremy Hunt said he would keep the 20 per cent levy in place, the Treasury estimated that the so-called tourist tax brings in about £2 billion a year to the exchequer.
But the decision to scrap tax-free shopping has had significant implications for the likes of Harrods, Selfridges, Liberty, and Fortnum & Mason all popular tourist hotspots.
A study from Cambridge University’s Centre for Economic and Business Research, commissioned by Global Blue, found that tax-free shopping in the UK increased spending from non-EU visitors by £21.80 each, resulting in a total increase of £265 million.
The UK’s tourism tax did little to deter a record number of American visitors to the UK last year, who made the most of the sliding value of the pound against the dollar.
To read more, please click here.
Nul points! Hated tourist tax will hit visitors flocking to Britain for Eurovision
Emily Hawkins & Harriet Line
04.27.23
Tourists flocking to Liverpool for the Eurovision Song Contest will not spend as much on shopping as they would have done with a tax incentive, retailers warn.
Bosses say the controversial ‘tourist tax’ is hitting cities around the country – not just London.
The Mail this week launched its Scrap The Tourist Tax campaign – with the support of MPs and 125 business leaders – urging the Government to bring back tax-free shopping.
To read more, please click here.
Coronation weekend to generate up to £50m for West End
Drapers
Sabina Weston
04.27.23
In order to promote the event, the New West End Company has decorated the West End with 247 Union Jack flags, coronation planters, and a series of street installations with the slogan ‘get your royal on’. Coronation-inspired retail and hospitality experiences are also accessible through QR codes displayed across the area.
New West End Company chief executive Dee Corsi said: “London’s West End will be transforming itself in the coming days to mark this historic British milestone.
“There is no better place to celebrate the coronation than London, and no better place to take part than in the West End. From royal-inspired menus in our district’s famous restaurants to family-friendly activities we can promise visitors that the West End will be offering a happy and glorious range of experiences that are fit for a king, yet accessible to all.
To read more, please click here.
Shoppers can hop on the Eurostar to Paris and save a small fortune by avoiding Britain’s outrageous VAT levies
Beth Hale
04.28.23
Data company Global Blue says tax-free spending by American visitors to the UK has only rebounded to 104 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in the first three months of this year; in France, it is 313 per cent.
In 2019, the UK was among the top-ten most visited destinations in the world, with visitors generating £28 billion of revenue.
Paul Barnes, CEO of the Association of International Retail, says: ‘Britain was the premiership, but we have effectively relegated ourselves to the second division.’
He tells the story of a hotel boss in London’s Park Lane, who welcomed a family from the Middle East, paying for three or four rooms for a two-week stay. For three days of that stay the family went shopping — but not in nearby Harrods or Selfridges or Sloane Street. No, they got on the Eurostar for a three-day shopping spree in Paris.
To read more, please click here.
MPs from all parties call for tourist tax to be axed as Liz Truss and Sadiq Khan claim the fee puts Britain at a ‘competitive disadvantage’ with rest of Europe
Harriet Line
04.24.23
A cross-party group of politicians joined forces tonight to back the Mail’s campaign to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists.
Former prime minister Liz Truss led a growing clamour of calls from MPs demanding ministers restore the VAT refund for visitors to boost economic growth.
She was joined by Labour’s London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who said it would ‘turbo-charge Britain’s high streets’.
To read more, please click here.
Sunak accused of making UK the least attractive place to shop in Europe
iNews
David Connett
04.25.23
The Prime Minister’s bid to woo UK business misfired when a leading executive accused him of a “spectacular own goal” by imposing VAT changes on tourists after Brexit.
Gerry Murphy, boss of fashion house Burberry, told the Prime Minister that his move to scrap the VAT refund for tourists has made Britain the “least attractive” shopping destination in Europe.
He was speaking at a Business Connect conference in London, organised by the Government in a bid to improve its relationship with business.
To read more, please click here.
Harrods rages as Paris poaches London’s shopaholic elites
The Telegraph
Matt Oliver; Hannah Boland and Daniel Woolfson
04.27.23
The year is 2017 and the tills are ringing in Bond Street’s jewellers, fashion retailers and watch shops like never before.
A record number of brands are rushing to open stores across central London to serve throngs of tourists, prompting researchers to crown the city as the “world capital” of luxury shopping.
To read more, please click here.
Time to scrap the ‘Tourist Tax’ and get Britain booming again: Business leaders call on Chancellor to reinstate tax-free shopping for overseas visitors
Harriet Line & Hugo Duncan
A coalition of business leaders today calls for the return of tax-free shopping for overseas tourists.
In a letter to the Chancellor, scores of retail, hospitality and tourism bosses warn that removing the VAT refund for visitors has been an ‘extraordinary own goal’.
Reinstating it would be a win both for business and the taxpayer, they say, with research suggesting it could bring a multi-billion-pound boost to the economy.
To read more, please click here.
Brexit is a drag on growth, says Burberry chair, as he attacks ‘own goal’ on VAT
The Guardian
Alex Lawson
04.24.23
The chair of Burberry has called Brexit a “drag on growth” and asked Rishi Sunak to reverse a decision to remove tax-free shopping for tourists that has left Britain nursing the “weakest” Covid recovery among its big markets.
Gerry Murphy, the chair of the £10bn trench coats to handbags fashion house, told the prime minister that a decision to remove VAT refunds in 2020 has hurt the economy and was a “spectacular own goal”.
To read more, please click here.
DAILY MAIL COMMENT: A perverse tax that is stunting UK growth
04.25.23
There are few issues on which Labour, the Liberal Democrats and nearly all Conservatives are in passionate unison. The folly of axing VAT-free shopping for tourists is one.Such disparate political figures as ex-PM Liz Truss, London mayor Sadiq Khan and Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey are backing the Mail’s campaign to reverse this perverse and damaging decision.
And at a testy meeting in London yesterday, Burberry chief Gerry Murphy waded into the fray. Confronting Rishi Sunak, he described the VAT extension as ‘a spectacular own goal’.
Other European tourist destinations offer duty-free shopping, he said, placing British retailers at a heavy disadvantage – especially those at the luxury end.Hotels, airlines, hospitality and entertainment venues will lose out as foreign visitors looking for bargains choose Paris, Milan or Madrid over British cities.
To read more, please click here.
Tourist tax means Britain is effectively closed for business to international shoppers
Paul Barnes
24.04.23
Back in 2019, the UK was among the top ten most visited destinations in the world, which had brought in £28billion of revenue, a figure forecast to rise to a whopping £57billion in 2025.
Covid’s effects were – and still are – nothing less than devastating. But the legacy of the pandemic is not the most pressing problem leading retailers face today. When we ask them what the main factor still inflicting damage on their business is, the answer is clear.
As the head of one major retailer in the West End put it: ‘Ending tax-free shopping has been more damaging to our business than closing for two years during the pandemic.’
To read more, please click here.
Luxury leather brand Ettinger says tourist tax discourages foreign visitors from splurging cash in Britain
Emily Hawkins
04.24.23
Many tourists visiting the UK for the Coronation will be deterred from splashing out due to a lack of VAT-free shopping, the boss of luxury brand Ettinger has warned.
Ettinger has been producing leather products such as wallets, briefcases and passport holders since Gerry Ettinger founded the business in 1934.
Now his son Robert is worried that visitors will not spend as much during the Coronation bank holiday celebrations due to the ‘tourist tax’.
‘If people are coming for the Coronation, then they will come here [to London]’, he added.
‘But there’s a chance they won’t buy as much when they’re here. People love coming to London but [a lack of VAT-free shopping] will possibly change the amount of money they will spend.’
MPs from all parties call for tourist tax to be axed as Liz Truss and Sadiq Khan claim the fee puts Britain at a ‘competitive disadvantage’ with rest of Europe
04.24.23
A cross-party group of politicians joined forces tonight to back the Mail’s campaign to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists.
Former prime minister Liz Truss led a growing clamour of calls from MPs demanding ministers restore the VAT refund for visitors to boost economic growth.
She was joined by Labour’s London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who said it would ‘turbo-charge Britain’s high streets’.
To read more, please click here
Tourist spending down by third as wealthy overseas visitors shun UK over shopping tax imposed by Rishi Sunak when he was Chancellor
Emily Hawkins
03.11.23
Italy and Spain are much closer to seeing a return to 2019 levels of tourist spending, while in France they are already spending more.
Paul Barnes, head of the Association of International Retail (AIR), said other cities would be ‘rubbing their hands with glee’ over the figures. American and Middle Eastern tourists in particular have returned to rival cities – more than doubling the amount they spend in Paris. But in the UK, spending by US visitors has only recently reached pre-Covid levels.
To read more, please click here.
London fears losing luxury shoppers to Paris and Milan
Reuters
James Davey and Sarah Young
03.15.23
London’s luxury retailers fear the city is losing its pull as a shopping destination, with tourists from the United States, China and the Gulf flocking instead to Paris and Milan where tax breaks still offer a way to cut the cost of their purchases.
With finance minister Jeremy Hunt set to present the government’s budget statement on Wednesday, the industry wants him to reinstate sales-tax-free shopping for overseas visitors, which ended in 2020 when Britain left the European Union.
To read more, please click here.
Spring Budget Does Not Meet London Business Expectations
London Chamber
03.15.23
The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), in response to the Spring Budget, declared that it fell short of delivering optimum value and support for London businesses. With the cost of living crisis, this year’s Budget was a lost opportunity in providing stronger support on energy bills to London’s small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
To read more, please click here.
BUSINESSLDN COMMENTS ON THE SPRING BUDGET 2023
BusinessLDN
03.14.23
“It is disappointing that the Government has missed an opportunity to launch an independent review of the benefits of VAT-free shopping – a measure that would more than pay for itself by attracting high spending tourists to the UK and support 78,000 jobs across the country.”
To read more, please click here
Sunday trading laws must be scrapped in the West End
Evening Standard
Dee Corsi
03.17.23
Shopping destinations in New York, Dubai, Milan and Madrid, all enjoy longer trading hours on a Sunday. Sunday trading laws have also been relaxed in certain Paris tourist hotspots. The West End is defined as an International Centre in the Mayor’s London Plan. This status should be more than just a geographical boundary, it should also come with planning and licensing benefits that allows the West End to compete more effectively on the global stage.
To read more, please click here
DCMS publishes Tourism Recovery Plan update with commitment to “explore measures to mitigate impact of ending tax-free shopping”.
AIR
03.23
DCMS publishes Tourism Recovery Plan update with commitment to “explore measures to mitigate impact of ending tax-free shopping”. AIR discusses with tourism officials of need to evaluate impact in order to mitigate
AIR discusses with tourism officials and raise the issue that in order to mitigate the impact, an evaluation of the impact is needed first.
To read more about the Recovery Plan, please click here.
AIR makes formal submission to Labour Party Policy Forum, promoting international visitor economy
AIR
03.23
Ahead of Labour National Policy Forum, AIR makes formal submission promoting international visitor economy.
In the submission Paul Barnes, chief executive of the Association of International Retail, writes the development of technology will lead to a world where people have more wealth and more leisure time. To balance Britain’s high-tech economic development a Labour Government should recognise and encourage the importance, global standing and growth potential of Britain’s international visitor sector and its ability to create wealth everywhere, by everyone, for everyone.
To read more, please click here.
AIR writes to Exchequer Secretary at HMT showing how data undermines HMT impact forecast
AIR
03.14.23
On March 10th 2023, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury James Cartlage replied to the Budget Submission on tax-free shopping made jointly by the Association of International Retail and UKInbound restating that the Treasury’s belief that ending tax-free shopping would have a limited behavioural effect on decisions to visit, or spend, in the UK.
AIR wrote to the Minister that a range of data sources are consistently showing significant behaviour change as international visitors are diverting millions of pounds of spending previously done in Britain to France, Spain and Italy.
To read more, please click here.
HMT publishes response to AIR’s Oxford Economics Report
HM Treasury
02.23
In the WPQ, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury James Cartlidge gave response to AIR’s Oxford Economics Report.
In his response, James Cartlidge claimed the Treasury do not recognise these figures. The OBR, using a higher than usual price elasticity of demand to account for VAT-free shopping being targeted at luxury goods, put this figure at 20,000-30,000 for non-EU visitors, which would imply a figure of 60,000-80,000 of total visitors (EU and non-EU). That is about 5% of the report’s 1.6 million estimate. Reflecting this difference in estimates of additional visitors could lead to their report overstating the potential extra revenue by around £1 billion.
To read more, please click here.
AIR assists London Mayor in open letter to the Chancellor calling for Tax-free shopping restoration
Sadiq Khan
01.31.23
The Mayor wrote to the Chancellor, alongside key businesses and business groups, to urge the Government to reintroduce VAT-free shopping for international visitors as soon as possible.
The Mayor wrote that reintroducing the VAT Retail Export Scheme and airside tax-free shopping will help to increase the number of international tourists who visit London and the United Kingdom, which in turn will provide a much needed boost to businesses and high streets across the country.
To read more, please click here.
AIR launches data at Parliamentary Event – presentations by Global Blue, Harrods, Value Retail, AIR and Conservative MPs
AIR
02.23
AIR launches data at Parliamentary Event – presentations by Global Blue, Harrods, Value Retail, AIR and Conservative MPs. The first major set of industry and consumer data shows the real impact of withdrawing tax-free shopping on the behaviour of international visitors, based on actual spending by non-EU international visitors to Europe in 2022, the first full post-pandemic year.
In 2022 Americans visiting Britain were back to 101% of their level of spending in 2019 . However, in France they were at 226% of 2019 spending levels. Visitors to Britain from the GCC states in 2022 spent around 65% of their 2019 level. But in France, they were spending 198% of 2019 levels. There is clear evidence of a mass diversion of spending away from the UK towards France, Spain and Italy.
To read more, please click here.
AIR makes joint March Budget Submission with UKInbound
AIR
01.31.23
Following the submission for Novermber 2022 Budget, AIR and UKinbound asked the Chancellor to look again at requesting the Office for Budget Responsibility.
To read more, please click here.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP tables Written PQs on Tax-free shopping
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP tables Written PQs on Tax-free shopping.
AIR initiates and supports House of Lords Debate on Tax-free shopping with Lord Vaizey
In the House of Lords Debate, Lord Vaizey questioned the government that what wastheir assessment of the impact on the United Kingdom economy of the abolition of tax-free shopping.
For the full content, please click here.
AIR’s proposals included in DCMS’s report on “Promoting Britain Aboard”
DCMS
24.10.22
Tourism is a cornerstone of the British economy. As one of the most popular destinations in the world, with its heritage, culture and landscape drawing millions of visitors every year, Britain is a global brand. Inbound tourism is the UK’s third largest service export, worth 9% of GDP, and is the industry on which 3.2 million jobs and more than 200,000 SMEs depend. But the sector was decimated by the pandemic and now has a long haul back to its previous success, let alone to surpass it. We wanted to examine the barriers to it doing so and identify the support it needs.
Committee recommendations include call for an independent assessment of TFS, as proposed by AIR.
To read the full report click here.
AIR makes joint Budget Submission with UKInbound
AIR
11.03.22
On November 3rd 2022, AIR makes joint Budget Submission with UKInbound to the Chancellor.
In the Budget Submission, we are writing to request that the Chancellor asks the Office of Budget Responsibility to review HM Treasury’s estimate of the costs of the scheme in light of a new report published today by Oxford Economics into the full economic impact of the scheme.The report was commissioned in September by the Association of International Retail in response to
the cost estimate of £2bn in the Growth Plan.
To read more, please click here.
Tax-free shopping is a simple gift for growth
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 has succeeded in calming the markets with the November Autumn Statement.
A recent study conducted by Oxford Economics and the Association of International Retail proves that this low-cost measure would have an immediate benefit, supporting tourism, retail and hospitality industries not just in London but across the UK.
The Chancellor is right to be looking at growth measures having steadied the ship and the opportunities presented by Brexit, such as tax-free shopping, should be reconsidered not just in the financial services industry but, in other industries, as well. The restoration of tax-free shopping will help our retail, tourism and hospitality industries to thrive.
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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, hospitality and retail sectors; the very businesses that had suffered most from the Covid-19 lockdowns.
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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”.
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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 parts of the UK and was inconsistent with international norms.
Paul Barnes, chief executive of the Association of International Retail, agreed: “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. This short-sighted move is based on inaccurate and incomplete projections, and risks putting a brake on the return of international visitors who are vital drivers of economic growth throughout the UK.
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