Holiday lets tax changes ‘could cost £200m’
Thursday, 03 Dec, 2009
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Changes to tax rules over holiday accommodation rental could cost the tourism industry millions of pounds, an MP has warned.
Shadow Conservative arts minister Hugo Swire, speaking in a Westminster debate on seaside town regeneration, said important allowances to be curtailed or removed would harm the domestic tourism industry – most notably tax rules governing the letting of furnished holiday property.
This could result in an overall reduction in tourism spend of some £200 million and a loss of 4,500 jobs in rural and seaside economies, according to the MP for East Devon.
He called for local councils with private participation to be reinvigorating seaside towns with the Government setting a framework to help make it happen.
“For too long now there has been a lack of recognition of extra infrastructure burdens faced by seaside resorts,” said Swire.
“Instead, these are left to the local authorities to run, and with squeezed budgets, are often forgotten, overlooked or simply put at the bottom of the ‘to do list’.
“Yet it is only after the public realm infrastructure receives investment that the private sector will be willing to invest.”
He argued that coastal towns are being badly hit by new tourism trends – the seasonality of the seaside economy, frequent high levels of deprivation, issues concerning coastal erosion, high levels of in-migration of older people and out-migration of younger people, placing pressure on social and community services..
Swire stressed tourism’s importance to the UK, saying that the visitor economy was worth £114 billion and employed eight per cent of the workforce. But the UK’s growth in inbound tourism had underperformed global competitors.
In order to succeed and flourish seaside destinations should also look at developing meetings and conference facilities to provide year round income.
But communities and local government minister Ian Austin was dismissive of Swire’s pleas.
“It has certainly been disappointing to sit here and listen to a party political rant dressed up as a serious discussion of his constituents’ concerns,” said Austin.
The minister went on to demonstrate the number of ways in which the Government was working with partners, including Regional Development Agencies, across the country to improve services and increase expenditure in coastal communities.
But following the debate, Swire said: “I was very disappointed by the minister’s response. He made no attempt to address the points I raised. In some ways this sums up the way tourism is regarded by this Government.
"I think it would have been more appropriate for the tourism Minister who is part of the Culture Media and Sport department to have answered in this debate. At least she might have had some idea of the brief."
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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