Cornwall Council won't press the Government for devolved powers to introduce a 'tourist tax'. The transient visitor levy, a 'tax' on the occupation of short-stay accommodation in a local authority area, splits opinion in Cornwall.
Many residents feel it could provide income to support the Duchy's vital services which are used by holidaymakers during the busy summer months. However, others working in the tourism industry believe it would be unfair and have a detrimental financial impact at a time when visitor numbers are dropping.
Taxes of this kind are frequently imposed in cities with strong tourist economies, in countries such as in Canada, Spain, Germany, Belgium and France, but they are not currently permitted by law anywhere in the UK. In Greece, for example, a family pays an accommodation levy of three Euros per night per room; the fee is to counteract over-tourism and the effects of climate change.
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The Scottish Government has passed legislation permitting local authorities to levy ‘tourist taxes’ on short-stay accommodation and the Welsh Government has also stated plans to introduce similar legislation in the Senedd. Manchester and Liverpool city councils, among others, have introduced a form of tourism levy via a legal workaround through their business improvement districts (BID).
It's long been a discussion in Cornwall, the UK's most popular coastal destination, which has a high percentage of holiday accommodation, including unregistered Airbnb-style rentals, and tourism businesses.
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It appears the possibility of a 'tourist tax' being introduced in future by Cornwall Council has now been nixed. A meeting of the local authority's Tory Cabinet this week decided to remove the inclusion of a potential tourism levy in the Cornwall White Paper, a devolution strategy which will be presented to the new Labour Government.
Council leader Cllr Linda Taylor said there was a concern "the current state of the tourism sector risks being further weakened by the inclusion of a potential visitor levy".
The council's portfolio holder for economy, Cllr Louis Gardner, added: "I attend Visit Cornwall board meetings and I speak to dozens and dozens of tourist-related businesses around Cornwall. Also, representing Newquay Central, which has a greater population of people dependent on the hospitality industry than anywhere else in the country, I haven't come across any business yet that supports putting an extra levy on tourists.
"Why would we purposefully make Cornwall less financially competitive than, say, our neighbours in Somerset or Devon? As with many of these things, it often penalises those who are already paying in so many ways above the radar and doesn't target those who are operating in another way."
He added: "I'm not a fan of the tourism levy and I'm pleased that we're proposing to take that out."
However, later in the meeting Independent councillor John Fitter aired his anger that the devolution paper was not being discussed by all members at a full council meeting. He said: "One of the things the public would support is a 'tourist tax' brought in, perhaps, just for the high season. We're not talking about it all the year round.
"It has been discarded and taken out, and this is something that the Cornish population perhaps would look at with sympathy and support us if we were to consult on it."
A revised version of the Cornwall White Paper will return to Cabinet in September to be signed off following briefings with councillors of all parties.
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