Webinar: Tax-free shopping, Autumn Statement and next steps

What, if anything, will the Chancellor say about tax-free shopping in the Autumn Statement? And what does it mean for the campaign to restore tax-free shopping in the UK? This is your chance to hear the views of the campaign leaders inside and outside Parliament and to discuss with them about where we go from here. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, AIR … Read More

Promoting tax-free shopping at party conferences

AIR held industry lunches at the Conservative and Labour party conferences, bringing together members of Parliament, business leaders and trade body chiefs to plan the next stage in the campaign to restore tax-free shopping. With the focus on the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on November 22nd, MPs urged businesses across the UK to make short submissions to the Treasury calling for the reinstatement … Read More

AIR secured a Parliamentary business debate on tax-free shopping

for the first time on Parliamentary record, a Treasury minister published the details of the Treasury’s arguments for ending tax-free shopping.  Secured by AIR and Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, the recent Parliamentary Debate has given valuable new momentum to our campaign to restore #taxfreeshopping . While we were not expecting any new announcement from the Treasury at this stage, what we did … Read More

Britain’s dying high streets: How almost TWENTY per cent of stores are lying empty in towns like Wigan as chains including M&S, B&M and Next shut up shop amid dire warnings they may never recover

Mail Mark Duell 04.28.23 London’s Oxford Street has also been hurt by economic hits such as the coronavirus crisis, with major brands including Topshop, Debenhams and House of Fraser all closing branches. Many vacancies in the capital’s West End are now filled with American candy stores on short term leases. Experts said retailers were being ‘cautious and biding their time’ … Read More

Coronation weekend set to deliver £50m boost for West End

The Retail Gazette Georgia Wright 04.28.23 King Charles’ coronation bank holiday weekend (6-8 May) is expected to generate up to £50m for London’s West End retail and hospitality businesses, according to estimates from the New West End Company (NWEC). NWEC chief executive Dee Corsi said: “Uniquely British events, such as The King’s Coronation show our capital at its very best. … Read More

‘Slash taxes or tourists will shun the hotspots’

The Times Isabella Fish & Mehreen Khan 04.27.23 Last autumn, when Jeremy Hunt said he would keep the 20 per cent levy in place, the Treasury estimated that the so-called tourist tax brings in about £2 billion a year to the exchequer. But the decision to scrap tax-free shopping has had significant implications for the likes of Harrods, Selfridges, Liberty, … Read More

Nul points! Hated tourist tax will hit visitors flocking to Britain for Eurovision

Mail Emily Hawkins & Harriet Line 04.27.23 Tourists flocking to Liverpool for the Eurovision Song Contest will not spend as much on shopping as they would have done with a tax incentive, retailers warn. Bosses say the controversial ‘tourist tax’ is hitting cities around the country – not just London. The Mail this week launched its Scrap The Tourist Tax … Read More

Coronation weekend to generate up to £50m for West End

Drapers Sabina Weston 04.27.23 In order to promote the event, the New West End Company has decorated the West End with 247 Union Jack flags, coronation planters, and a series of street installations with the slogan ‘get your royal on’. Coronation-inspired retail and hospitality experiences are also accessible through QR codes displayed across the area. New West End Company chief … Read More