3 days ago
Oxford plots ‘tourist tax' on visitors
Oxford city council is planning to introduce a £2-a-night 'tourist tax' for overnight visitors.
Guests visiting the ancient university city would have to pay the charge if they stay in a hotel or college room.
Officials claimed that the surcharge could generate £2.5 million a year in tax receipts.
It is not the first UK city to be considering a tourist tax. Cambridge mulled a £2 nightly surcharge last year before it was forced to abandon the plans following a backlash from hoteliers.
Elsewhere, an accommodation business improvement district (ABID) charge is set at £1 a night in Manchester and £2 a night in Liverpool.
At a scrutiny committee meeting on Tuesday, councillors heard the tax would be used to 'improve' the city for locals and tourists.
AirBnB and self-catering accommodation, which fall outside of the business rate database used under BID legislation, would not have to collect the levy.
Diana Fawcett, Oxford council's city centre manager, said: 'It's not really just about our tourists, it's about anybody who uses the city. So whether you live here, whether you work here, whether you're a student here, as well as a tourist, we want to improve that experience.'
The council estimates that 32 million people visited the city last year, supporting 40,000 jobs.
The proposals follow a series of other controversial revenue-generating policies proposed for the city in recent years.
Oxfordshire county council wants it to become the first in Britain to introduce a congestion charge in two decades under plans for a £5 daily charge to access parts of its historic centre.
'Chronic gridlock'
Low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in the east of the city have also been made permanent despite a report finding they caused 'chronic gridlock' and 'exasperatingly slow' bus journeys.
The council also plans to introduce controversial climate zones, which will ban residents from travelling directly between suburbs at peak times next year.
Six traffic filters, described as 'bus gates', will close off arterial roads to cars in an attempt to relieve congestion and promote cycling in a trial that has been postponed by overrunning roadworks near the railway station.
Local drivers will be given 100-day annual permits to cross the boundaries – or 25-day permits if they live outside the city – and fined £70 on other days if they do not take a detour onto the ring road.
There is also a zero emission zone (ZEZ) in place in the city centre, which charges drivers for using non-compliant vehicles.
