Today, in the Senedd, Stage 3 of the Visitor Accommodation (Register and Levy) Etc. (Wales) Bill will be debated and voted on. The amendment stage is the final chance for Senedd Members to make changes to the Bill.
The Tourism Tax will be £1.30 per person per night in a hotel in Wales, but can be increased by councils, given the provision of an unlimited “premium which may be added” [pg36 Explanatory Memorandum].
The Welsh Conservatives oppose the concept of a Tourism Tax and will vote against, but have also put forward a series of amendments to the Bill to reduce its scope and impact, including exemptions and levy reductions.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Sam Rowlands MS said:
“Labour and Plaid’s toxic Tourism Tax will devastate the sector; it must be axed.
“The Welsh Labour Government’s own figures project up to £576 million in economic damage over the next decade and hundreds of potential job losses annually as a result of their so-called ‘visitor levy’, which enjoys full support from Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems.
“Welsh Conservatives are clear: we will be voting against this act of economic self-harm today, because the sector deserves to be supported not hit with a new tax.”
