Keep up-to-date with our campaign
Tax-Free Shopping
Restore VAT RES and ESC scheme in the UK and extend to EU residents
Learn more about the benefits of tax-free shopping and the potential new EU market worth £10bn
Our Activities
Join our Webinar: Tax-Free Shopping Post-Budget Review
8:30-9:30 Thursday March 7th
AIR's submission to the OBR regarding tax-free shopping deadweight
27th February 2024
All these factors lead us to conclude that the cost of lost VAT is not £2.5bn, the Treasury’s current 2024 forecast, but £525m
AIR’s 2024 Spring Budget Submission
Feb. 27, 2024Webinar: Make your submission to bring back tax-free shopping in the Spring Budget
Feb. 27, 2024Giving oral evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee
Nov. 24, 2023AIR Demonstrated to the Treasury the Urgent Need for a Review of Tax-Free Shopping
Nov. 24, 2023Webinar: Tax-free shopping, Autumn Statement and next steps
Nov. 22, 2023Research and Reports
AIR's 2023 Nov Evidence on the impact of ending tax-free shopping
Ending tax-free shopping results in £1.5bn lost in UK retail sales; a new tax-free shopping-led tourism EU market is also awaiting the UK
You can read the report here.
Oxford Economic Assessment of Tax-Free Shopping in the UK
The reintroduction of TFS would attract more than 1.6 million extra visitors to the UK and stimulate an extra £2.8 billion of tourist spending…
You can read the report here.
In the News
End of tax-free tourist shopping cost UK business £1.5 bn
The Times, Nov 8th
British retailers lost £1.5 billion in sales last year after the introduction of the “tourist tax”, according to an analysis of spending by non-European Union visitors to Europe.
Amid growing industry pressure on the government to reinstate tax-free shopping for international visitors, a report found that French, Italian and Spanish businesses had benefited from a 98 per cent rise in sales from international shoppers compared with 2019.
Tory chief Greg Hands ‘backs call to abandon tourist tax’ - marking latest Cabinet Minister to pile pressure on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to ditch the levy
Daily Mail, 12th November 2023
The tourist tax is also thought to have cost British retailers £1.5 billion in lost sales in 2022, according to figures compiled by the Association of International Retail (AIR).
AIR wants the Chancellor to commit to launching a review into the issue in the Autumn Statement as it fears the Treasury did not take into account the impact the tax has had on other parts of the tourism industry – such as restaurants and hotels.
Help us Bring Back Tax-Free Shopping
Paul Barnes - CEO
paul@internationalretail.co.uk
Pete Bowyer – Director/Labour Lead
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