Edinburgh council could raise up to £2.5m if it were able to levy a tax on the city’s booming levels of festival tourism, Scottish Labour has said.
The party has backed proposals from Edinburgh’s council leader, Adam McVey of the Scottish National party, for councils to introduce a so-called bed tax on all hotel and short-stay rooms in the city to help fund services and tourism facilities.
Labour said on Monday that a £2 a night levy on overnight visitors would raise £2.5m in August alone, the busiest month for Edinburgh’s hotels, when room rates surge and hotels fill to capacity.
They do something similar in Rome. You pay a city tax. It is still the same vile pick-pocketing by the state, though. When they talk about revenue, what they really mean is revenue stolen by the state – for those tourists are spending money with private businesses, so revenue is, indeed, going into the city. Just not the pockets of the avaricious state.
“Tax it and they will (not) come”
It would be funny to watch if they imposed the tax and the organisers just moved the whole bash somewhere else.
Well, quite. Talk about biting the hand…
Speaking as someone based in Glasgow, I think it’s a great idea.
Of course, we’re down the road, and would be a likely place to up sticks to, so I may be biased….
The 1/2 Tram Line has to be paid for….
Oh, £2pn tax in a cheap B&B/Hostel could easily be enough to deter the mostly young Festival & Fringe visitors.
I wouldn’t be surprised if numbers down next year as message gets around the £2 Aldi/Tesco/… 2L cider is £5 in SNP Land.
City, or guest residency tax varies. France has it. It’s a local levy on all accommodation. A lot of US Cities charge it, although it varies from state to state. Doesn’t do anything, just goes into the general taxation pool.