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Tourist tax

SKII

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What are people's thoughts on the proposed tourist tax that the council want to implement in Edinburgh?
I'm in the "Not sure what the fuss is" camp having paid such a tax to a range of councils/governments across the globe. Indeed, in Croatia I've just paid a pound per person per night for the very same.

Anyone got any strong arguments for or against? And, if against, why should Edinburgh be different to any other place doing this?
 
I'm strongly for it. Tourists contribute alot to our economy- possibly too much- but they also use the services too. Bins need emptied, roads, etc.

I've never sold someone a holiday and advised them of a tourist tax only for them to decide to not go on their planned trip.Never.
 
I'm strongly for it. Tourists contribute alot to our economy- possibly too much- but they also use the services too. Bins need emptied, roads, etc.

I've never sold someone a holiday and advised them of a tourist tax only for them to decide to not go on their planned trip.Never.
See, that's my gut feeling, too.

Next month, those of us who live here will see our lives disrupted massively. Cleansing will focus on the city centre, not residential areas, lots of the local community will not directly engage with the Festival or be interested in it but most will have longer commutes or less clean streets or similar.
 
Yup. I've paid enough in my travels. It's about time my fellow travellers chipped in to my home city.
 
I'm strongly for it. Tourists contribute alot to our economy- possibly too much- but they also use the services too. Bins need emptied, roads, etc.

I've never sold someone a holiday and advised them of a tourist tax only for them to decide to not go on their planned trip.Never.
We pay it in USA, am no sure if it’s payable elsewhere. So aye at least charge the Yanks.
 
Had to cough up a few quid on my travels; as Southfield points out - a couple of quid extra a night is hardly going to make me cancel.
With a poorly performing pound tourists will flock here because of the cheapness, so hit 'em for a wee extra.
 
Voting today. Expect it'll be passed. Then arsed about and the potential for the funds to be put to good use missed.

Seems they're proposing £2 per room per night, reducing when it's B&B/Hostel. Totally unambitious.

Rate should be £2 per person per night 4/5 star hotels, £1.50 per person per night 3 star and £1 per person per night B&B hostel.

Under the current rate they aim to raise £11/£14 million per year,we should be looking to double that. And at the same time, reduce the number of tourists coming into Edinburgh. There's just too many folk coming to Edinburgh.

The fund will also be used solely on the most popular parts of Edinburgh. So Bruntsfield/Morningside/Old Town/New Town. wft.

Double the rate, ban airbnb, use the money to refund some of the cuts made by this council to deprived areas like WH,Pilton or Magdelene and be bold, ffs.
 
For this. Vast majority of places I’ve been to over the past decade charge some form of daily rate. As SH also stated, it’s never resulted in me not going to a destination when I’ve found out there’s a tax. Suspect same will apply to Edinburgh if it’s introduced.
 
Voting today. Expect it'll be passed. Then arsed about and the potential for the funds to be put to good use missed.

Have the council got form for mucking things up?




Of course they do. You're absolutely right, sadly.
 
Voted in. £2 per night add to cost of any room for the first week of stay.

Edinburgh 'tourist tax' backed by council Edinburgh 'tourist tax' backed by council
 
Voted in. £2 per night add to cost of any room for the first week of stay.

Edinburgh 'tourist tax' backed by council Edinburgh 'tourist tax' backed by council
Predictable and bland. Lacking any kind of vision. Our city is run by dullards.
 
Could a charge not be put on campsites, caravans and hostles too?
 
How about a charge for big fat tourists wearing leggings !
 
What are people's thoughts on the proposed tourist tax that the council want to implement in Edinburgh?
I'm in the "Not sure what the fuss is" camp having paid such a tax to a range of councils/governments across the globe. Indeed, in Croatia I've just paid a pound per person per night for the very same.

Anyone got any strong arguments for or against? And, if against, why should Edinburgh be different to any other place doing this?
I’d apply it . I spend a lot of the year in the GCC where tourist tax is the norm and nobody really gives a toss .
Edinburgh is I think the second most visited city in the UK because of its various attractions .
Nobody visiting here will bat an eyelid and it will put cash into Edinburgh’s bank .
 
Could a charge not be put on campsites, caravans and hostles too?
It will be applied to hostels too.
 
Predictable and bland. Lacking any kind of vision. Our city is run by dullards.

Indeed. And it appears that regardless to whatever party forms the administration that's the case.
 
Indeed. And it appears that regardless to whatever party forms the administration that's the case.
At local level there's really nothing between the parties in Scotland I think. Edinburgh certainly.

I think they're collecting the tax, then giving 25% back to the hoteliers to pay for the operating of it. So £2 a night is actually £1.50.
 
How about a charge for big fat tourists wearing leggings !

How much do they cost?

I am in favour of the tax, it should have been more.
 
Maybe they could combine Moaty’s post about toilets and reopen the public conveniences then charge tourists to get out.


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At local level there's really nothing between the parties in Scotland I think. Edinburgh certainly.

I think they're collecting the tax, then giving 25% back to the hoteliers to pay for the operating of it. So £2 a night is actually £1.50.

Apart from their disagreements over independence the war between Labour & the SNP in Scotland is phoney. It's an insult to our intelligence.
 
Might be able to open more public toilets with the extra money.
 
I think the only argument against it is that it's largely not new, 'free' money because it'll mostly come from funds that would have been spent in local businesses because most people spend a budget in holiday. So it's really a transfer from businesses to local government. That's not to say it's undesirable, but goes some way to explaining why most small companies are not in favour.
 
I’m completely in favour of it, but I’m concerned what the council will do with it. I’m prepared to bet that it won’t go on anything that we would hope it would and it won’t go on anything that will improve things for ordinary people in Edinburgh. More pointless vanity projects I’d guess.
 
I think the only argument against it is that it's largely not new, 'free' money because it'll mostly come from funds that would have been spent in local businesses because most people spend a budget in holiday. So it's really a transfer from businesses to local government. That's not to say it's undesirable, but goes some way to explaining why most small companies are not in favour.

Do you think so?
I've paid it a time or two - can't say I cut back on a beer or grub to 'offset' it. Or indeed any holiday spending.

I'd be pretty surprised if anyone budgetted a holiday in such detail.
Maybe some student backpacking type?
 
Do you think so?
I've paid it a time or two - can't say I cut back on a beer or grub to 'offset' it. Or indeed any holiday spending.

I'd be pretty surprised if anyone budgetted a holiday in such detail.
Maybe some student backpacking type?

It's not so much that they literally stick to the budget rigorously - although some obviously do - but that they tend not to spend money that they (post tax) now don't have.

Think of it this way - it's like when people say that a 1% cut to VAT won't change their spending choices. Largely it won't, but there's still hundreds of millions in their collective pockets that they wouldn't have had otherwise, and they (mostly) spend it rather than save it. The tourist tax works in reverse on a local level.
 
Would it not have been better as % ie small, so it balances out better? Seems the less well off as per usual paying more per se than those who will literally know no difference
 
It's not so much that they literally stick to the budget rigorously - although some obviously do - but that they tend not to spend money that they (post tax) now don't have.

Think of it this way - it's like when people say that a 1% cut to VAT won't change their spending choices. Largely it won't, but there's still hundreds of millions in their collective pockets that they wouldn't have had otherwise, and they (mostly) spend it rather than save it. The tourist tax works in reverse on a local level.
Ok but if a figure of, say randomly fifty million quid, is spread across the over 3 million visitors each year then the real difference to each individual visitor is pretty small no? I've not heard of spend in pubs, restaurant etc in the places its used going down?
 
Ok but if a figure of, say randomly fifty million quid, is spread across the over 3 million visitors each year then the real difference to each individual visitor is pretty small no? I've not heard of spend in pubs, restaurant etc in the places its used going down?

Small businesses tend to be opposed to it, I assume because they see small reductions. I'm in favour of it but it doesn't matter how you slice it, the money can't be spent twice, and the places where it now won't be spent are likely to be pubs, restaurants etc.
 
Small businesses tend to be opposed to it, I assume because they see small reductions. I'm in favour of it but it doesn't matter how you slice it, the money can't be spent twice, and the places where it now won't be spent are likely to be pubs, restaurants etc.

Still don't really see it that way - for me it's not about the money being spent twice, it's just about extra money being spent.
When I went to Venice I had to cough up a few euros a night - didn't affect my consumption of pasta or Birra Moretti in any way at all. Just meant a few more Euros on the credit card.
You seem to think tourists are on fixed budgets - I don't think they are at all.
Used to be a nightmare in the days of travellers cheques and no cash machines mind....... but not now.
 
All for it. Paid this tax in most of the places we've been abroad. But it has to be put to good use and not just frittered away on some councillors' whims.
 
I’d probably like to see it spread more evenly across the city, but I think we have to take something back to redistribute to areas that see little benefit of tourism
 
Still don't really see it that way - for me it's not about the money being spent twice, it's just about extra money being spent.
When I went to Venice I had to cough up a few euros a night - didn't affect my consumption of pasta or Birra Moretti in any way at all. Just meant a few more Euros on the credit card.
You seem to think tourists are on fixed budgets - I don't think they are at all.
Used to be a nightmare in the days of travellers cheques and no cash machines mind....... but not now.

I doubt all of it goes out of the local economy but I expect quite a decent percentage does. If VAT went up 1% it probably wouldn't affect your individual purchases much but billions would come out of consumer's pockets and not be spent in the economy. This is just the same but on a smaller scale.
 
I doubt all of it goes out of the local economy but I expect quite a decent percentage does. If VAT went up 1% it probably wouldn't affect your individual purchases much but billions would come out of consumer's pockets and not be spent in the economy. This is just the same but on a smaller scale.

I only got as far as an SNC in Economics so that probably explains my failing to grasp it!
 
I only got as far as an SNC in Economics so that probably explains my failing to grasp it!

Like I say, I'm in favour of it, I think if set low it probably won't affect demand for actually visiting. But I read that four out of five small businesses oppose it and I guess that's because they think it'll affect their revenue a bit. Maybe they're wrong though.
 
I only got as far as an SNC in Economics so that probably explains my failing to grasp it!
I think the argument against it is that people will come on holiday with things like pre loaded credit cards or just cash. They will bring for example £1000 for their holiday and they won’t spend anymore. If some of that goes on a tourist tax it means it’s less that’s spent in shops and bars.
It’s not an argument that I agree with given that the maximum charge is £14. I doubt anyone budgets that carefully that they’d be down to the very last of their money by the time they go home. And as you say most people won’t come with all their money on them, they’ll use cash machines as and when they need them.
 
If it goes towards up keep of the city I'm all for it but not if it's like V.A.T.
That started out as a luxury tax now it's risen to 20% and you can't even fart without it being added on.

Tourist tax has been in operation back in Italy for years think it's about 1or2 euro.
Mind you over there it'll probably go towards the upkeep of some M.Ps Testa Rossa!!!
 

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