Andrew Griffith has warned that Labour's planned tourist taxes on overnight stays will crush family-run businesses in traditional seaside towns. Writing for the Express, the Shadow Chancellor said resorts from Whitby to Weymouth would suffer if people think twice about a staycation because they will have to pay more. He said firms have been “begging” the Government to “stop attacking them” since Rachel Reeves' first budget two years ago.
Mr Griffith accused the Labour Party of being “hell-bent in its ideological tax crusade”, saying: “Labour needs the money, because the welfare bill is out of control and they are too afraid of their backbenchers to reform it. Instead they never stop looking for new people to tax, even if that means going after a family-run guest house at the seaside.” He said a Conservative government would cut the welfare bill, cut taxes and abolish business rates for thousands of pubs, hotels and high street shops.
Labour mayors are planning to impose a tax of up to 5% on overnight stays after plans for a tourism levy were waved through by Mr Burnham last week. The Government has said the charge will be set as a percentage of accommodation prices, rather than a flat fee. That means families will be forced to pay more in tax if they go away during school holidays, when high demand pushes up prices in tourist hotspots. There are also fears that the levy will act as a “popularity tax” on Britain's best-loved destinations.
The consultation process warned that tying the levy to accommodation prices could “increase costs during peak school holiday periods”, but ministers decided to push ahead, arguing it was the “most proportionate and equitable method of calculating the charge”. All Labour authorities, including London, Liverpool and North East mayors, are expected to introduce the tax on hotels, holiday lets and bed and breakfasts. Reform UK and Conservative mayors have pledged not to impose the levy. Hoteliers including Sir Rocco Forte and Sir Tim Martin are also dismayed, and UKHospitality estimated the tax would cost the industry at least £1.6 billion.
George Greenaway, landlord of the Tamworth Tap in Staffordshire, said the tourist tax “will put people off” staying in hospitality venues. “It will put people off, say if a seaside town like Brighton had the tax, you might move along the coast to somewhere like Rye to avoid it,” he said. South Shields MP Emma Lewell said she was “really sad about this”, calling the levy “anti-growth” and said it comes at “the worst time for hospitality”. A government spokesman defended the “proportionate approach”, saying local leaders who know their areas best could choose to introduce the levy.
