THE PRIME Minister has rejected calls from the hospitality industry to cut VAT to 5%, despite the backing of 28 MPs from all parties to support the measure.
The debate on cutting VAT across the sector, which took place yesterday in the House of Commons, highlighted the impact the recession has had on the UK Tourism industry.
MP for South Downs, Margaret Ritchie – who kicked off the discussions – then went on to point out that the UK Tourism industry was responsible for around 10% of the entire country’s GDP and employs over two million people, many of whom were young people under the age of 30.
She went onto say that the UK ranked 138th out of 140 countries for price competitiveness for tourism by the World Economic Forum.
The campaign to cut UK Tourism VAT started last year, with calls from across the industry to back the plans. Campaigners have highlighted that some countries, such as France and Germany, have benefited enormously from rates as low as 7%.
