Behind the numbers: why are we taxing tourists?

In this episode of Behind the Numbers, we discuss the introduction of tourism taxes in the UK.

During 2024, such taxes have been introduced in Manchester, Poole, Bournemouth and Brighton. Now, Edinburgh City Council has put forward draft proposals for a visitor levy scheme, which would charge visitors 5% of their accommodation costs per night for up to a week. But how useful are tourism taxes in practice? And what do local people make of them?

To answer those questions, host Philippa Lamb is joined by Clare Beck, Chair of the ICAEW Scotland Board; internal auditor Jim Orr; Rhys Ap Gwilym, Senior Lecturer in Economics at Bangor University; and Suth Rathmell, Partner in Indirect Tax at MHA.

Links 

• ICAEW Scotland: https://www.icaew.com/groups-and-networks/local-groups-and-societies/scotland-ds
• The Conversation: ‘Why you should expect to pay more tourist taxes – even though the evidence for them is unclear’: https://theconversation.com/why-you-should-expect-to-pay-more-tourist-taxes-even-though-the-evidence-for-them-is-unclear-229134
• Welsh Government: ‘Comparative analysis of the tax systems faced by the visitor economies in selected countries’: https://www.gov.wales/comparative-analysis-tax-systems-faced-visitor-economies-selected-countries 

Host

Philippa Lamb

Guests

• Clare Beck, Chair, ICAEW Scotland Board
•  Jim Orr, Internal Auditor
• Rhys Ap Gwilym, Senior Lecturer, Economics, Bangor University
• Sue Rathmell, Partner, Indirect Tax, MHA

Producer

Natalie Chisholm

Episode first published: 25 September 2024
Podcast recorded: 17 September 2024