THE SNP minister in charge of tourism has delivered a stinging rebuke to the leader of Edinburgh Council over his plans to introduce a tourist tax.
Adam McVey wants to charge visitors an extra £1 to £2 a night to stay in Edinburgh, mirroring other European cities such as Barcelona and Berlin.
But the SNP councillor's insistence that the controversial levy could be in place by as early as next summer was publicly slapped down by Tourism Secretary Fiona Hyslop.
She tweeted a series of question marks, adding: “So let’s be clear – you have no shared plans, no tourist business consultation and no agreement with the Scottish Government.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Government later said it had “no plans to introduce a visitor levy on the tourism sector, which is already subject to the second highest VAT rates in Europe by the UK Government”.
Ms Hyslop, who is currently in Japan on official business, was responding to a comment from Mr McVey that the tourist tax plans could be ready for “implementation” in the next 12 months.
He added: “While it may take longer to deliver the powers necessary to start collecting, our timeline is robust and we’ll be ready to go.”
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Plans to push ahead with a tourist tax – or transient visitor tax – were agreed by Edinburgh Council in May, amid claims it could raise around £11 million in extra cash.
But any moves to introduce such a levy would need new legislation to be introduced in Holyrood.
Local government body Cosla is now pushing Scottish ministers to hand extra financial powers to councils.
Responding to Ms Hyslop’s rebuke, Mr McVey tweeted that initial plans had been agreed by the council, which is in the process of engaging with businesses. He added that there was "no agreement with Scottish Government (yet).”
He later insisted “momentum is building” for a tourist tax, with “key hotel industry leaders” giving their support to the plans.
He said: “I’m supporting Cosla’s cross-party efforts and working with colleagues directly in local and national government to help deliver this policy.”
Scottish Conservative shadow tourism secretary Rachael Hamilton said Ms Hyslop’s tweet showed “an embarrassing split right at the top of the SNP on this issue”.
She said: “In full public view, the Nationalist tourism secretary is slapping down the SNP leader of Scotland’s capital city.
“Fiona Hyslop appears surprised that the council has approved this move, which would suggest she’s not fully on top of her brief.
“It’s also strange that, while on an official engagement on the other side of the world, the minister’s first concern is getting involved in a Twitter spat.
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“We don’t agree with Adam McVey that Edinburgh – or anywhere else – should introduce a tourist tax.
“Businesses in that sector are already taxed far too much, and this move would only jeopardise these firms and the jobs they support.
“There is also a risk these taxes could be passed onto local people rather than those visiting.”
Scottish Labour’s communities spokeswoman Monica Lennon MSP said: “Rather than attacking councillors in her own party on social media, SNP minister Fiona Hyslop should give these plans serious consideration – and agree to allow other councils to take similar steps."
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