The tourism industry is the next to take a hit in Rachel Reeves' upcoming Budget as British holidaymakers are to face paying a nightly tax on hotel and Airbnb stays. Regional mayors will be given new powers by the Chancellor to impose the tourist levy, which she hopes will raise hundreds of millions of pounds to be invested locally into public services and transport. Devolved governments in Scotland and Wales are introducing the tax too, with government insiders claiming England is an outlier for not following suit.
After previously expressing concern for the impact on the hospitality sector, telling mayors last year that Brits pay enough tax, Ms Reeves has been swayed by other countries in Europe who have imposed the levy. The tourist tax will be the latest in a series of new levies that the Chancellor is set to announce in her Budget on November 26.