Tourism tax: discussion document

6. Questions for Consideration Through the National Discussion

As set out in Section 2, there are several broad issues that could be considered through the national discussion. These include:

• What would be the reasons for introducing a transient visitor tax?
• What would a well-designed and operated transient visitor tax look like?
• What positive and negative impacts could a transient visitor tax have?
• How could a transient visitor tax be used, and how can revenue be distributed fairly?

Within these broad issues, there are a number of different issues that could be considered, including:

What would be the reasons for introducing a transient visitor tax?

I. What are the tourism priorities that we need to meet at local and national levels?

II. What are the global, local and national trends that will influence these?

III. What are the challenges posed by Brexit for the tourism sector?

IV. What is needed to support tourism and the visitor experience at Scotland level, and in different parts of Scotland?

V. What are the positives and negatives of the general principle of a Tourism Tax?

What would a well-designed and operated transient visitor tax look like?

VI. What countries have adopted tourism taxes, and what models have they adopted?

VII. What are the characteristics of a successfully designed and implemented model of Tourism Tax?

VIII. If implemented, how would a Tourism Tax be administered, collected and enforced, and what requirements would this place on Local Authorities, the Scottish Government and the tourism sector?

IX. If a Tourism Tax were to be implemented, what should a Tourism Tax be expected to do and fund, and how would this be demonstrated?

What positive and negative impacts could a transient visitor tax have?

X. What are the current cost bases and challenges for the tourism sector across Scotland?

XI. What taxes, charges and other costs are currently levied on the tourism sector, and how do these compare internationally?

XII. How would tourism businesses and visitors respond to the introduction of a Tourism Tax, over the short and longer term?

XIII. What the impact of tourism taxes has been on the tourism sector in countries that have adopted them?

XIV. What are the potential impacts of a tourism tax on the competitiveness of the tourism sector, both at regional and national level?

XV. What are the potential impacts of a Tourism Tax on visitor numbers, visitor expenditure and the wider Scottish economy?

How could a transient visitor tax be used, and how can revenue be distributed fairly?

XVI. What are the potential revenues from a Tourism Tax, and what factors might influence the scale of these?

XVII. How might receipts from locally determined tourist taxes relate to wider local government revenues and expenditure?

XVIII. Would those local authorities where tourism is less developed be disadvantaged by not being able to raise revenues in this way?

XIX. What would a local authority need to do to establish, administer and enforce a locally determined tourist tax?

XX. Should each local authority determine how receipts raised locally are spent or should local expenditure align with and contribute to national priorities?

XXI. How could a local authority manage any revenue risks arising from receipts being impacted by wider events?

The Scottish Government will look to explore as full a range of issues as possible during the course of the national discussion.