Welsh Government refuses to suspend tourism tax plans
Janet Finch-Saunders, Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy, has asked the Minister for Finance and Local Government, Welsh Government, to suspend plans for a tourism tax so to assist the sector in confronting the energy crisis and rising cost of living.
In response, the Welsh Government has refused to suspend the plans, with the Minister stating:
“We are starting a consultation about our proposal to give local authorities the power to introduce a visitor levy on 20 September.
“Any levy would not be introduced for some time. The process of developing a levy spans years, and any legislative proposal would ultimately be subject to scrutiny and approval by the Senedd in the future.
“Our consultation, which will be available at https://gov.wales/visitor-levy is an opportunity for the public and the sector to help inform our thinking and what would work well for Wales. We encourage everyone to contribute to the consultation.
“We have a programme for government commitment to introduce legislation enabling local authorities to raise a levy on tourism. This work has been carried out in collaboration with Cefin Campbell, the Plaid Cymru designated lead member, as part of the Co-operation Agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru.”
Commenting on the Welsh Government response, Janet said:
“The tourism tax will have an negative impact on the tourism industry, especially here in Aberconwy, where people work in and communities rely on on the income generated by visitors.
“We have no idea how long this cost of living crisis will persist, but in a time of uncertainty for employers and employees in the tourism sector, it would be a welcome relief if the Welsh Government stopped its plans to attack the sector with a new tax.
“The Welsh Labour Government and their co-operation pals in Plaid Cymru really need to start cooperating positively with businesses so that steps are taken to boost economic growth”.
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