If Britain’s leaders ventured into London’s West End during the day they would notice there are some tourists, but they are predominantly British or school parties from Europe.
If Rishi Sunak or for that matter, Jeremy Hunt, walked the pavements of the shopping districts of Covent Garden, Bond Street, Oxford Street and Knightsbridge, they would find the high-end designer shops largely empty.
At night, the theatres and restaurants are busy, but not as much as they were pre-pandemic. Noticeably absent or not in the same numbers, are the foreign tourists.
It’s not confined to London. If Sunak and Hunt were to go to the Lake District, where I was recently, they would again notice plenty of domestic visitors but few from overseas. Luxury hotels and restaurants are struggling to attract their staple, big-spending Americans and other international guests.
It does not take a genius to work out what is going on, especially as reports circulate that other parts of the world that rely on the tourist trade are reporting healthy traffic. In 2021, the Treasury scrapped the scheme that had been around for ages allowing foreign visitors to shop tax-free. The claim was that it was a “costly relief which does not benefit the whole of GB equally”.
So, tourists are charged 20 per cent VAT, the same as a Briton. This, while other countries offer tax-free shopping to attract tourists. The tax reclaim counter at Abu Dhabi International Airport was doing a brisk trade when I passed through there two weeks ago. The Louvre in Abu Dhabi was busy the afternoon I toured, with groups of visitors from abroad — not something you would find repeated if you currently looked in on London’s equivalent National or Tate galleries.
The amount the tax brings into the Exchequer is £2 billion a year. It’s a tiny amount when set against the gigantic public purse. Still, every little helps and all that.
But consider this: research by Oxford Economics estimates that scrapping the charge and reintroducing tax-free shopping for tourists would boost GDP by £4.1 billion and support 78,000 jobs. There would, in fact, be a net gain to the Treasury of at least £350 million a year.
To say the business community that relies on overseas visitors is frustrated is an understatement. They’re furious. Now, 68 leaders of organisations including British Airways, Mulberry, the Royal Opera House, Fortnum & Mason and Bicester Village, the designer shops outlet, have signed a joint letter to Hunt pleading for a rethink.
The letter, published in the Daily Mail and organised by hotelier Sir Rocco Forte, calls the decision to abandon the tax-free incentive “puzzling” and “ill-timed”.
“The impact of its removal is already being seen,” they write. “It was depressing to witness a great British brand like Mulberry closing its doors of one of its flagship stores as a direct result of the loss of tax-free shopping as it did earlier this year.”
Their letter cites new research from tax-free shopping experts Global Blue. They say: “The UK is losing out on the significant spending by international travellers as global travel resumes. Paris, Madrid and Milan can’t believe their luck as the UK’s lack of tax-free shopping drives travellers to spend in Europe.”
Gucci is among 11 companies to urge the British government to abandon plans to end tax-free shopping in the UK. Getty
The 68 chiefs say: “Data covering international visitors from the USA, Gulf Cooperation Council and South-East Asia regions from a sample of 11 leading retailers shows that whilst the UK has recovered post-pandemic to 64 per cent of 2019 levels of consumer spending, Italy is at 79 per cent, Spain at 84 per cent and France, which is benefiting most from the UK Government’s decision to remove tax-free shopping has recovered to 108 per cent.”
What’s also happening is that UK residents “are starting to take advantage of tax-free shopping in Europe, with £450 million disappearing from high streets”.
They describe the reimposition of the tax as “an extraordinary own goal for the UK”.
Reintroducing tax-free shopping, says Forte, would be an “easy win” for ministers. “Jeremy Hunt blithely talks about growth, and is doing nothing to help growth at the present time. This would help growth significantly and it certainly has no impact on inflation. There’s no reason not to do it.”
Well, there is of course, which is that the Chancellor who took the decision to ditch tax-free was one Rishi Sunak. He would be eating humble pie if only two years later he made an about-turn.
His reasoning, though, for making the move in the first place did not stand up to scrutiny. It’s true that not all of the UK benefited equally from the tourist trade, but since when did we have a rule that says tax benefits must apply to all? Our tax system contains numerous examples of sectional advantages.
At the same time, surely the tourist industry is an enormous winner for the whole country. There are the hotspots that attract overseas visitors, such as London, York, Bath, Stratford, the Lake District. But to say they are drawn to just those places is plain wrong. The entire nation is set up like one giant heritage site. Everywhere you go there are museums and galleries and historic locations aimed at appealing to sightseers from anywhere, not only from the UK.
It’s one of the few activities that Britain does best and in which it can claim to be a world leader. Taxing people who want to come and spend their money here and delight in our glorious past and colourful traditions and customs is a cast iron case of cutting our nose off to spite our face. For the sake of £2 billion, it’s nonsensical.
This would be the ideal moment for Sunak to relent. We’re about to embark on a display of pageantry, the like of which has not been witnessed for 70 years. King Charles’s coronation will be a scaled-down version of his mother’s ceremony, but it will be spectacular nevertheless. The world will be watching and they could also be visiting and sharing in the occasion, and at a time, when the economy is fragile, spending their cash and critically, underpinning jobs.
Once the coronation is over, we go into the Summer Season, the like of which is also uniquely British and a traditional magnet for international tourists.
Come on Rishi, swallow your pride. You know it makes sense.
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
5pm: Maiden (Purebred Arabians); Dh80,000; 1,400m. 5.30pm: Maiden (PA); Dh80,00; 1,400m. 6pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (PA); Group 3; Dh500,000; 1,600m. 6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (Thoroughbred); Listed; Dh380,000; 1,600m 7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup for Private Owners Handicap (PA); Dh70,000; 1,400m. 7.30pm: Handicap (PA); Dh80,000; 1,600m
Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
An arms embargo
A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Kat Wightman's tips on how to create zones in large spaces
Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
Use a considered collection of prints and artworks that work together to form a cohesive journey.
JL, a housewife from India, wrote to us about her husband, who died earlier this month. He left behind an outstanding loan of Dh240,000 and she was hoping to pay it off with an insurance policy he had taken out. She also wanted to recover some of her husband’s end-of-service liabilities to help support her and her son.
“I have no words to thank you for helping me out,” she wrote to The Debt Panel after receiving the panellists' comments. “The advice has given me an idea of the present status of the loan and how to take it up further. I will draft a letter and send it to the email ID on the bank’s website along with the death certificate. I hope and pray to find a way out of this.”
SL, a financial services employee from India, left the UAE in June after quitting his job because his employer had not paid him since November 2018. He owes Dh103,800 on four debts and was told by the panellists he may be able to use the insolvency law to solve his issue.
SL thanked the panellists for their efforts. "Indeed, I have some clarity on the consequence of the case and the next steps to take regarding my situation," he says. "Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive testimony soon."
MS, an energy sector employee from South Africa, left the UAE in August after losing his Dh12,000 job. He was struggling to meet the repayments while securing a new position in the UAE and feared he would be detained if he returned. He has now secured a new job and will return to the Emirates this month.
“The insolvency law is indeed a relief to hear,” he says. "I will not apply for insolvency at this stage. I have been able to pay something towards my loan and credit card. As it stands, I only have a one-month deficit, which I will be able to recover by the end of December."
Al Jazira's foreign quartet for 2017/18
Romarinho, Brazil
Lassana Diarra, France
Sardor Rashidov, Uzbekistan
Mbark Boussoufa, Morocco
Tips for job-seekers
Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
