Furious West End bosses condemn "staggering" decision not to scrap "tourist tax" in the Budget
The Chancellor delivered a huge blow to the West End today when he decided not to restore VAT free shopping for foreign tourists to the UK.
Furious retail and tourism bosses said Jeremy Hunt’s refusal to restore the perk was “staggering” and would leave London hopelessly uncompetitive against rivals cities such as Paris and Milan.
Last month Mr Hunt asked the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to carry a review of the policy -officially known as the VAT Retail Export Scheme - head of his Budget.
But today the OBR concluded that the estimates that it made in 2020, ahead of the scheme’s abolition in 2021, “still appear reasonable” despite vigorous lobbying from business leaders.
It estimates that restoring VAT free shopping will cost almost £1.5 billion in lost revenues over the current year and the next two years.
Today’s OBR review says the scheme - widely known as the tourist tax - “largely related to spending in a relatively small number of luxury stores, such as those located in central London and
