Pressure increases for government to ignore bed tax proposals

With less than a week till the publication of the Lyons Inquiry into local government funding, pressure is rising on the Government to ignore the recommendation of a bed tax.

Sir Michael Lyons' report, which will be published alongside next Wednesday's Budget, is expected to propose a bed tax levy of between 5-10% on an overnight stay despite widespread industry opposition.

In June last year, Caterer delivered more than 4,000 signed petitions from readers to Lyons at the conclusion of our "Say No To Bed Tax" campaign, which was backed by the main industry bodies and a number of leading operators.

Now, Derek Merkl, owner of the Three Abbey Green B&B in Bath, has launched his own petition on the Government's new online petition website.

It says: "We petition the Prime Minister to abolish plans to levy a bed tax on tourists and visitors to hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs in the UK.

"This punitive tax will only damage the already fragile tourist industry, resulting in tourists either avoiding visits to Britain or cutting short their visit. Tourists already pay nearly 20% tax to the Government in VAT - how can further taxes be justified?"

You can sign the petition here >>

View more news on bed tax here >>

Download Caterer's letter to the Government here >>

By Daniel Thomas

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