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Growing reaction to Jeremy Hunt’s ‘Crazy’ tourist tax: Industry leaders call for VAT-free shopping to be returned
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Jeremy Hunt faced another backlash from industry chiefs over his ‘crazy’ so-called tourist tax.
Opposition is growing among bosses from retail to hotels, bars and restaurants over abolishing tax-free shopping for international tourists.
In the latest intervention, the Bicester Village boss repeated his warnings above that Hunt’s tax is driving shoppers away from Britain to European rivals.
‘No growth’: Bicester Village boss (pictured) repeated warnings that Hunt’s tax is driving shoppers from Britain to European rivals
James Lambert, founder of Value Retail, the owner of the Oxfordshire luxury retail outlet, said international retail tourism across Europe took an ‘unprecedented’ leap this year.
But, he said, there has been no growth in international shoppers visiting the UK, suggesting the 20 percent VAT tourists now have to pay has dampened the country’s appeal.
His intervention came days after Kurt Geiger boss Neil Clifford warned that the tax is “driving visitors to Paris and Milan.”
Clifford said he was “hugely disappointed” when the UK stopped VAT-free shopping for international tourists.
It was ‘crazy’ to give British consumers the green light to travel abroad and shop cheaper.