The Wall Street Journal24/11/20 “I thought that the point of Brexit was that we were going to become more competitive,” said Jace Tyrrell, chief executive of the New West End Company, which represents some 600 businesses in central London, including Nike Inc., Apple Inc., and Ralph Lauren Corp. “This is going to affect not just London but regional cities like Edinburgh which rely on tourists.” Read the … Read More
AIR’s response to HMT’s Mythbuster Note
You can read AIR’s response to HMT’s Mythbuster Note here.
40,000 jobs are under threat if duty-free shopping is scrapped, retail organisation warns Rishi Sunak
Daily Mail, This is Money21/11/20 Last night, Paul Barnes, chief executive of AIR, said: “I would urge the Chancellor to look again at the numbers. It is not just the high street that he is putting at risk, but also people’s livelihoods”. Read the full article here.
In Britain, Watch Sellers Shocked at End of Sales Tax Refund
The New York Times19/11/20 “We’ll have Chinese visitors, because the market is growing, but they just won’t be spending money here” said Paul Barnes, chief executive of the Association of International Retail in Britain. “They’ll come and visit the U.K., but they’ll wait until they get to France to do their shopping.” Read the full article here.
Heathrow Airport to launch legal review over VAT-free shopping ban
Yahoo News02/11/20 The Association of International Retail (AIR) urged the chancellor to “look again at this devastating decision”. Read the full article here.