The Scottish Government has been accused of ignoring local concerns of a new tax and being forced to review it less than a year after it was introduced.
After questioning senior SNP ministers about the Visitor Levy, passed in July 2023 and currently being considered by councils in the Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston said the SNP were trying to make “bad legislation slightly less bad”.
At Holyrood’s Economy Committee last week, Mr Halcro Johnston had twice asked Deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes, whether she was happy with the legislation as it was being implemented. While not directly answering that question, Ms Forbes did reveal that Public Finance Minister, Ivan McKee, was engaging with the sector to look at what could be done with the legislation.
Mr Halcro Johnston then raised the issue with Mr McKee at a Finance and Local Government Question in Parliament, suggesting that this new engagement was proof that the Scottish Government had got the Visitor Levy wrong from the start.
Highlands and Islands MSP, Mr Halcro Johnston said:
“I voted against the Visitor Levy when it came before the Scottish Parliament, and I oppose it being forced on local communities across the Highlands and Islands.
“It is not just a tax on visitors, but will also hit the wider tourism sector, other local businesses and even people visiting family and friends in hospital.
“It is just another poorly thought out piece of legislation from the SNP in Edinburgh, one which will create more uncertainty in rural communities, as well as significant regulatory and financial burdens for many small local operators.
“The fact that Ivan McKee – less than a year since the legislation was passed – is having to go back to the tourism sector to see whether anything can be done on the legislation shows just how badly wrong the SNP got it in the first place.
“Having created all this anger and uncertainty, Scottish ministers are now desperately trying to make this bad legislation slightly less bad.
“That is the last thing the sector needs and, having failed to listen to local concerns, shows just how out of touch Scottish ministers in Edinburgh are”.