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Fortnum and Mason boss Tom Athron has urged the government to scrap the tourist tax or risk businesses losing sales revenue to Paris, in an interview with This Is Money.
Athron, chief executive of the luxury food store, stated that Paris was a “very attractive” destination for tourists due to hosting the Olympics next summer.
He is one of a number of business chiefs to call for the tax to be scrapped ahead of Wednesday’s (22 November) Autumn Statement from chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
The brands that have backed the calls include Marks and Spencer, Harrods, Burberry, Heathrow Airport and Jimmy Choo.
He said: “My view is that waiting until the Budget in the spring to tackle the tourist tax would be too late because people are already thinking about their travel plans for next year. My plea to the Government is to act now. We need to make sure Britain is as attractive as possible to visitors from overseas as it possibly can be.”
Experts at the Centre for Economic and Business Research believe allowing overseas visitors to shop free of VAT could boost the economy by £10bn.
The Treasury has argued that bringing back the 2021 policy could cost the Government £2bn in lost tax revenue.
Athron added: “Increasingly [people] are jumping on the Eurostar to Paris to do their shopping. If you are a luxury purchaser spending a large amount of money there is a significant saving. For us, it is an indirect effect. No-one decides not to shop at Fortnum as they won’t get the VAT back, but there is a mindset around shopping in London which is not as good value as it used to be.”
