IT WAS with dismay that I read that the idiots in the Labour Party, in their quest to ‘go for growth’, are considering taxing tourists.
Yes, hot on the heels of taxing parents who are willing to pay for their children’s education from their own already-taxed income (and therefore not use the resources of the taxpayer by using the state education system) Labour now want to tax visitors to London.
Mail Online reports: ‘Holidaymakers could be forced to pay a ‘hotel tax’ as part of frantic efforts by Chancellor Rachel Reeves to stabilise the public finances.
‘Treasury officials are understood to have carried out “modelling exercises” to work out the impact of introducing a similar “tourist tax” to that applied in France, where a nightly accommodation charge ranges from less than a pound per person per night at a campsite to more than £12 in a five-star hotel.
‘The move comes despite Ms Reeves’s insistence that she has no plans to add to the £40billion of tax rises she imposed in the autumn Budget, which have been blamed for crushing the UK’s growth prospects.’
That’s a special kind of stupid right there. Note that ‘the measure would be on top of the separate “tourist tax” under which foreign visitors are no longer able to claim back VAT on their purchases – a move that has infuriated British retailers’. Keep in mind that you already pay ‘carbon tax’ on your flights to get into the UK. It is almost as if Chancellor Reeves doesn’t like businesses, or parents or indeed ambition of any kind, given the passing of the Schools Bill which undercuts all of Michael Gove’s drive to improve state schools.
Labour have set themselves up as the opponents of drive, ambition and excellence of any kind. Which is probably why so many people are leaving the UK.
The underlying structural problems are significant. They cannot raise taxes, but they have an ageing population and fewer young people. Far too many young people are not working: just under a million of them are not in employment, education or training.
There are a lot of workshy people in the UK; an ever-growing number are happy to rely on the taxpayer for their income. According to the Times, ‘Official figures released before Christmas showed that economic inactivity – referring to people who are not working or looking for a job – remains at near-record levels of 9.3million people. Political attention has focused on the post-Covid surge in long-term sickness to a record 2.8million people, with ministers drawing up reforms to the benefits system to encourage people back to work.’
In truth the only way the UK has any chance of getting back on track is to cut welfare spending but that is always politically very difficult. People do not like losing a free lunch. That is why Labour are considering making your lunch, at some fancy London restaurant or hotel, much more expensive.
