GEORGE Harrison was universally known as the quiet Beatle, although he could throw a good strop with the best of them.

His song-writing talents were also under-rated, with the spotlight forever being shone on John Lennon and Paul McCartney and their prodigious musical output.

One song that Harrison may not look back on fondly, though, is his 1966 offering Taxman which is basically a rant at HMRC set to music.

With lines like “If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat and if you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet”, it is fair to say he had issues with the amount that HMRC felt he had to stump up.

But, hopefully, no-one at the Scottish Government feels the need to dig out their dusty old copy of the album Revolver any time soon as the song may give them some ideas.

Tax has always been a contentious issue, of course, as every taxpayer feels they pay too much, regardless at what rate it is sets.

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Ministers at Holyrood are currently looking at a range of tax rises and foreign tourists are in their sights.

Plans are being explored to tax cruise ships and private jets, while councils now have have now got the power to introduce a visitors’ tax.

Whether international travellers will be deterred from visiting Scotland by the introduction of such taxes is unlikely but we have to be careful that we don’t impose one that is too high.

City of Edinburgh Council is currently consulting on a draft visitor levy under which it is proposing a 5% surcharge on overnight stays for a maximum of seven days.

The authority says the levy could raise up to £50 million a year, which would be used to improve public spaces and leverage investment for new housing.

But VisitScotland Chief Executive Vicki Miller this week suggested that any levy should be reinvested into the tourism sector and it is very hard to disagree with that.

The tourism body chaired an expert group at the behest of ministers to develop guidance for local authorities on how levies are applied, and how the charges may affect the global competitiveness of Scotland as a destination.

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Ms Miller said: “The key thing for me is that we think about our competitiveness. We know that value for money is very important for the visitor”.

This is absolutely crucial going forward as ministers simply cannot allow our vital tourism sector to become uncompetitive and force visitors away.

The principle of a tourist tax is absolutely fine and many countries have one, but the money raised should be ploughed into improving the visitor experience.

More public toilets are badly needed, many of our most popular attractions need upgraded with better parking and access.

After all, tourists come here to see our sites so, if we charge them to stay, then we have a duty to make their stay as enjoyable as possible.

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Cash-strapped local councils don’t have the money to make the improvements themselves so really it should be a win-win situation if everyone plays nicely and no one gets don’t get too greedy.

It would be a national embarrassment if overseas visitors were fleeced to pay for the upkeep of schools, for example.

Wealthy American golfers, the family from France or the backpacking students from Spain are not stupid. They will not accept it and won’t come back.

How very “progressive” that is.