Councils set to introduce major rule change & Scots on staycation won’t be happy

SCOTS who enjoy a staycation holiday will be “pretty unhappy” as cash-strapped councils are set to introduce a major rule change.

Local authorities across the country have now been given powers to impose a new tourist tax, dubbed the Visitor Levy.

This means councils will be able to introduce charges of around 10 per cent on people staying in hotels and bed and breakfasts, self-catering accommodation.

And it would also include those who stay at campsites and caravan parks.

MSPs were told that Scotland could have the “first true visitor levy” in the UK after Holyrood passed the legislation.

Employment and Investment Minister Tom Arthur said the legislation, which passed by 83 votes to 27, with four abstentions, would give councils a “significant new tax power”.

He added that the Scottish Government was also “open to introducing” a similar levy on cruise ships, with a consultation to take place later this year.

He explained that ministers would also look at “any workable proposals that could be brought forward” for a charge on motor homes.

Scots will be pretty unhappy when they realise that they will have to pay a 10 per cent tax to stay in a hotel when their house is flooded, when they are going to hospital with their children they will be paying this tax

Miles BriggsTories Housing spokesman

Mr Arthur told Holyrood he was “committed to engaging on these matters, both on a cruise ship levy and indeed on potential further measures we can explore with regards to motorhomes“.

He spoke as MSPs debated the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill, with the minister saying a charge on overnight stays could be a “force for good”.

With money raised to be invested in the local area, the minister said the levy “has the potential to be an important tool enabling investment in the local economy, and supporting an important industry in Scotland”.

Mr Arthur said such charges are “common in many parts of the world” and he was “proud” that the Bill “will create the opportunity for the first true visitor levy in the UK”.

He added: “Twenty-one European countries have some kind of visitor levy, and I believe it is right that Scotland has the ability to add to that number.”

Any scheme in Scotland would take into account “good practice from around the world”, Mr Arthur pledged.

He added that there would have to be “genuine, effective local consultation” by councils before any charging system is brought in.

It would have to be “clear and transparent where funding raised by a visitor levy is being used”.

And the minister said the cash could be used to promote local areas, help with housing if this would benefit the tourism sector, or contribute to regeneration work.

While the Bill contains exemptions for children and young people, and for disability benefit recipients, the Tories – who opposed the legislation – argued there needed to be a more “robust” exemption scheme.

Housing spokesman Miles Briggs said: “Scots will be pretty unhappy when they realise that they will have to pay a 10 per cent tax to stay in a hotel when their house is flooded, when they are going to hospital with their children they will be paying this tax.

“Many people when they see that will question why Parliament has not brought forward exemptions.”

Conservatives and Labour said the money raised from any charges should not be used by councils to “make up for funding cuts from the Scottish Government”.

Labour’s Mark Griffin said the levy would be a “shot in the arm for hard-pressed local authorities”.

But he added: “Revenue crucially must not be used to replace funding for core local services.

“In the face of the swingeing cuts imposed by this Government, any revenue that is raised must be used to improve the tourism offering and the services tourists appreciate and visit Scotland for.”