Cities like Manchester should be allowed to charge tourist tax, Burnham says

Local leaders should have the power to impose taxes on tourists to help their area cope with high numbers of visitors, Andy Burnham has said.

The Great Manchester Mayor said it was wrong for British tourists to pay tourist taxes when they visit places like Rome, Paris or Amsterdam but that visitors to the UK do not subsidise local services such as street cleaning.

Hotels in Manchester have already set up the City Visitor Charge of £1 per room, per night at participating venues with the aim of raising money towards boosting tourism by funding large events, festivals and street cleaning.

Mr Burnham said metro mayors and other local authorities should have the same powers as Scotland to raise a nightly hotel tax to help fund municipal services that are also enjoyed by visitors.

He told i’s Labour’s Plan For Power podcast: “Is there a case for going further? For sure.

“I personally don’t think that a tourist tax should be off the table.

“Why should a British tourist pay those taxes when they go to other places?

“Why shouldn’t a city region like ours, which receives … a considerable number of visitors to come and see music, football … why shouldn’t we?

“I’m not saying we would rush to do it, but there’s a case for it.

“In fact, our hotels have done it voluntarily to raise money to put it into I think more street cleansing and those things.

“So there’s a case for it.”

Mr Burnham already has a mayor’s “precept” to top up council taxes and pay for services delivered by his office but he has frozen it at £31.75 per year for a Band D property for 2023/24.

The mayor has used the cash to fund Manchester’s new Bee network of buses.

Scotland is currently passing legislation allowing local authorities to introduce a tourist tax on accommodation providers as a percentage rate of the cost of the “purchase of overnight accommodation”.

Wales is also planning to introduce a tourist tax.

Both the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Northern Powerhouse Partnership have estimated that a £1 per person per night tourist tax could raise around £420m or more in England.

But this compares to council tax raising around £30bn and business rates around £25bn a year in England, according to the House of Commons library.

The UK Government said in September it had no plans to allow local authorities to impose tourist taxes.

The Labour Party has been approached for comment.

Labour’s Plan For Power: Fixing the North-South Divide” is the third episode of an exclusive new i podcast series examining what a government led by Sir Keir Starmer would actually do if it wins the next election.

Hosted by Paul Waugh, i‘s chief political commentator, this fascinating four-part series will also dive into Labour’s plans for the NHS, Brexit and the economy.