Leading UK media Daily Mail has launched a ‘Scrap The Tourist Tax’ campaign in support of a coalition of travel retail stakeholders urging Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to reinstate tax-free sales for overseas visitors. They emphasise that the VAT refund for tourists would lure more overseas visitors and improve the economy. In its letter, the coalition call the decision to scrap the VAT-free shopping scheme for international visitors as ‘puzzling’ and ‘ill-timed’, the Daily Mail noted. In a note published by the Daily Mail, Forte also called the existing rule as “a punishing, unfair, short-sighted policy, an active deterrent to overseas shoppers”. The Daily Mail also warned that tax revenues are “bound to fall overall” as tourists choose other destinations over the UK.

Source: Daily Mail April 24, 2023 15:57 UTC