Taxes

[Spartacus]

Saw this today about Southwark voting in support of a tourist tax in the borough 

BBC News - Tourist tax visitor levy comes closer in Southwark

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ypvw0qln7o

Makes me wonder what else they can find to tax, maybe a fine for breaking wind, or breathing or even a tax on windows. Of course I am being facetious but it does feel like if it moves, they will tax it. 

Edited July 19 by Spartacus

[Jenijenjen]

I think it's a good idea and follows the example of other towns/areas. As it says in the article, the area around the main tourist attractions in Southwark, that is The Globe, Southwark Cathedral, Tate Modern and the whole walking route from London Bridge to Blackfriars, takes a lot of maintaining and it shouldn't be a burden on regular council tax payers like us. 

[Sue]

On 20/07/2025 at 08:45, Jenijenjen said:

I think it's a good idea and follows the example of other towns/areas. As it says in the article, the area around the main tourist attractions in Southwark, that is The Globe, Southwark Cathedral, Tate Modern and the whole walking route from London Bridge to Blackfriars, takes a lot of maintaining and it shouldn't be a burden on regular council tax payers like us. 

Whilst I agree to some extent,  are they going to have some kind of checkpoint? 

I can't see how this could work in practice.

Surely Southwark residents go to these places quite frequently as well, particularly Tate Modern? 

Will we have to take proof of residency every time we go out? What happens when family are with us who don't live in Southwark?

Will other London boroughs start doing the same thing?

Will Southwark residents be charged a tourist tax to visit "tourist attractions" in other areas, eg the V&A and the British Museum?

[David Peckham]

27 minutes ago, Sue said:

Whilst I agree to some extent,  are they going to have some kind of checkpoint? 

I can't see how this could work in practice.

Surely Southwark residents go to these places quite frequently as well, particularly Tate Modern? 

Will we have to take proof of residency every time we go out? What happens when family are with us who don't live in Southwark?

Will other London boroughs start doing the same thing?

Will Southwark residents be charged a tourist tax to visit "tourist attractions" in other areas, eg the V&A and the British Museum?

It doesn't work like that. There won't be differential pricing for tourists and residents at any attractions, no checkpoints nor a requirement to carry one's papers with one at all times.

A levy is put on hotels, maybe on Air B&Bs, on a bed per night basis. That cash goes to Southwark. It's pretty easy to administer.

Edited July 21 by David Peckham
Clarity

[HeadNun]

In  parts of Europe you just get charged tax at the end of your stay somewhere. Usually a couple of quid added to your bill. Most tourists are pretty happy to stump up the cost, as it's an expected expense. 

I  think it's a good way to make money and remove the burden from locals. 

It's for foreigners, Sue - I'm sure Londoners and brits will still be able to freely cross the borough lines without having to go through checkpoint charlie 🙂 

[Insuflo]

15 minutes ago, Sue said:

Whilst I agree to some extent,  are they going to have some kind of checkpoint? 

I can't see how this could work in practice.

 

It’s a flat fee levy payable by guests staying in hotel and hostel rooms, so added to the bill.  This already happens in Manchester and Liverpool ( I think in Liverpool it’s a percentage, so the more expensive rooms pay more). I read somewhere that Edinburgh is doing this next year?

Charges of this kind are becoming common around the world. I think it absolutely makes sense for Southwark and other boroughs are bound to follow.

[David Peckham]

I'd support fining any tourist wearing a 'I ❤️ London' t-shirt, 'University of Oxford' sweatshirt or Union Jack bobble hat.

[HeadNun]

I think we should pay them all to go to Scotland walk around in Wee Jimmy hats

[maddison]

I think we should open up more american sweet shops and Union Jack branded gift shops

[Sue]

2 hours ago, Insuflo said:

It’s a flat fee levy payable by guests staying in hotel and hostel rooms, so added to the bill.  This already happens in Manchester and Liverpool ( I think in Liverpool it’s a percentage, so the more expensive rooms pay more). I read somewhere that Edinburgh is doing this next year?

Charges of this kind are becoming common around the world. I think it absolutely makes sense for Southwark and other boroughs are bound to follow.

So it's for tourists and others actually staying in Southwark?

So a person living and working  in England but staying in a hotel in  Southwark for work purposes (say) would have to pay this tax (or their employer would)?

But a tourist from France (say),  staying in a hotel outside Southwark but visiting all the Southwark "tourist attractions" wouldn't?

[David Peckham]

Pretty much, Sue, yeah.

It's the perennial, knotty problem of imposing a tax and balancing that with the cost of collecting it. 

The famous one was the dog licence - I think it was 37 1/2 pence when it was abolished, but the revenue didn't' come close to covering the administration costs.

As much I'd love to have a Stasi patrolling the South Bank, looking for mullet haircuts, unshaven armpits, overly expressive hand movements and red Kicker shoes, I'm afraid your modern Continental is almost indistinguishable from your modern Londoner. That's Schengen for you.

So you couldn't justify it from an ROI point of view, really.

This scheme seems a pretty good idea, overall. It's not perfect, but it's cheap to implement and takes some tax burden off Southwark residents.

 

2 hours ago, maddison said:

I think we should open up more american sweet shops and Union Jack branded gift shops

'The Man' has got wise to this. It's got bad juju now.

If you're looking to rinse medium to large amounts of small denomination notes, there are far better ways.

Please drop me a direct message if you'd like to discuss this matter further.

 

Kind Regards 

Dave

[HeadNun]

Hey Sue, I was wrong - I don't think it would just be for foreign tourists.

So yeah I assume that, if someone lives in Lewisham and wants to say the night in southwark, they'd pay a levy. 

The hotels wouldn't need to vet anyone's address or passports - the levy is automatically added on top of the bill by every hotel / BnB / hostel and passed on to Southwark. So basically, you're paying an extra two quid a night, or whatever, to stay in this borough. 

It's a great way to drive footfall... to the other London boroughs. 

https://www.ukpropertyaccountants.co.uk/uk-tourist-tax-exploring-the-rise-of-visitor-levies-and-foreign-property-charges/

[Cyclemonkey]

Do none of you go abroad.  Tourist taxes are really common in continental Europe and do vary a lot city by city.

They are collected by the hotels/rental apartments.

They are usually a  tiny part of your holiday costs.  In Narbonne recently we paid €1.30 per person per night.  The next town we went to charge 80 cents per person per night.

By comparison Cologne is 5% of your accomodation.

[HeadNun]

Wow I had no idea they give you 5% in perfume for your accommodation. You're right, I need to travel more. 

[David Peckham]

If anyone is thinking of traveling a bit more and would like to supplement their trip by picking up a few family heirlooms from various ailing maiden aunts of mine, please drop me a private message.

I'm particularly interested in anyone who is considering Colombia & Bolivia, The Golden Triangle region of South East Asia, Andalusia & North Africa or Rotterdam.

And Liverpool.

 

[malumbu]

I'd get rid of duty free shopping.  Nothing to do with tourist tax but something I hate.  All that glitz as you try to get through to Wetherspoons in the departure lounge.  No great savings over on line or even at times supermarkets, and the hypocrisy of selling cheap cancer sticks.

Ok back to tourist tax

 

[HeadNun]

Apparently a tourist tax was Raynor's idea, but Reeves has put the kibosh on it because of the push-back she'll get from businesses

[malumbu]

Surely that depends on the amount.  It can be quite piffling.  

[Forest Hill Climber]

Most countries charge for entry to museums and galleries, often a different rate for locals (tax payers) and foreign nationals. The National Gallery could do this, also places like the Museums in South Kensington, the British Library and other tax-funded institutions.

Many cities abroad add a tourist tax to hotel bills. It means tourists help pay for public services.

[jazzer]

Reeves says she's in charge and no no's Rayners plan, what happens now?

[David Peckham]

On 21/07/2025 at 16:43, malumbu said:

I'd get rid of duty free shopping.  Nothing to do with tourist tax but something I hate.  All that glitz as you try to get through to Wetherspoons in the departure lounge.  No great savings over on line or even at times supermarkets, and the hypocrisy of selling cheap cancer sticks.

Ok back to tourist tax

 

To be fair, anything which waylays someone on their way to Palma Nova or Lloret de Mar from spending even more pre-flight time in Spoon's surely has some merit?

I think losing a few quid on a litre of Bacardi and 200 Benson & Hedges Gold seems a reasonable price for society to pay.

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