Western Isles plan to levy tax on motorhome visitors

[ShiftZZ]

Western Isles plan to levy tax on motorhome visitors

Western Isles council is to consult on the idea of asking the tourists for a "small contribution" towards services.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Well, a lot of Europe has a tourist tax……

 

[mitzimad]

another place not to visit spend our money where were welcome

 

[MattR]

Sounds reasonable to me. Many motorhomers etc stock up at supermarkets on the mainland and wildcamp as much as possible. Their contributions to the local economies are likely to be relatively low and some of that will be taken up by the greater impact on local facilities.

It is perhaps not unreasonable for those who have an impact to contribute in return.

 

[WillH]

Watching this with interest as the Scottish Government are trying for legislation for the whole country.

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[Kannon Fodda]

If it is just a tax then not good. If it does allow funding of extra amenities (as opposed to simply funding something already there), if at a sensible level then OK.

Authorities do need to balance the effect of any taxation and whether that would then deter the tourism that many in the area should be reliant on. We all know some arrive in an area an abuse it, without putting much into the local coffers, but others will in their travels support the local economies and that has to be encouraged.

 

[Ivory55]

I guess if more people are going there then the roads etc are getting more worn and need money spending on them

 

[pelican]

How would they collect?

 

[Mr Drizz]

How would they collect?

Ferry or bridge toll I guess. Or number plate reader on all roads

 

[coroner]

I guess if more people are going there then the roads etc are getting more worn and need money spending on them

Thats what we pay taxes for already

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[MattR]

Thats what we pay taxes for already

Do the taxes you pay go towards the maintenance and repair of facilities and infrastructure in the Western Isles?

How much of the council tax you pay supports the services in the Islands that are being visited by hundreds or thousands of tourists each summer?

A small contribution to the costs might put a few folk off but it seems that they won't miss a few visitors but will appreciate the £.

 

[Gromett]

I don't see the problem with this.

 

[Ivory55]

Thats what we pay taxes for already

Well maybe it’s not enough, I know motorhome are more entitled to stuff than anybody else but may be they have not got the money.

 

[glenn2926]

Do the taxes you pay go towards the maintenance and repair of facilities and infrastructure in the Western Isles?

How much of the council tax you pay supports the services in the Islands that are being visited by hundreds or thousands of tourists each summer?

A small contribution to the costs might put a few folk off but it seems that they won't miss a few visitors but will appreciate the £.

Very likely to be the same percentage as is spent per capita everywhere else.
We don’t have this money grabbing by our Yorkshire Dales Authority. What makes the islanders so special?

 

[mikebeaches]

I think this has been in the air for a long time (a year or two?). In fact I'm surprised they are only just getting round to consulting.

Provided it is a modest amount, it doesn't sound totally unreasonable.

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Edit - Here we go - I knew I'd seen it somewhere. 2017 !!

Outer Hebrides proposed motorhome tax!

It appears a local Scottish MP has proposed a tourist tax on motorhomes visiting the Outer Hebrides! But the Islands' tourist board is up in arms and says it is ill advised: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-41333126...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

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[Grianan]

It’s an interesting question .., if it were extended beyond the Western Isles would I (a Scot) be taxed for visiting my holiday home? Would someone from one part of Scotland be taxed for visiting another part of Scotland? Once you add it in to all the anti-camping and anti-MHing tweets/fb posts it all adds up to a feeling of ‘let’s go elsewhere’. Hence we’re heading to France in October rather than the far north.

 

[coroner]

Do the taxes you pay go towards the maintenance and repair of facilities and infrastructure in the Western Isles?

How much of the council tax you pay supports the services in the Islands that are being visited by hundreds or thousands of tourists each summer?

A small contribution to the costs might put a few folk off but it seems that they won't miss a few visitors but will appreciate the £.

Fuel duty vehicle excise duty levied across uk so yes we do already pay for the upkeep of highways so no why should we pay twice.

 

[Neil S]

It’s an interesting question .., if it were extended beyond the Western Isles would I (a Scot) be taxed for visiting my holiday home? Would someone from one part of Scotland be taxed for visiting another part of Scotland? Once you add it in to all the anti-camping and anti-MHing tweets/fb posts it all adds up to a feeling of ‘let’s go elsewhere’. Hence we’re heading to France in October rather than the far north.

my thoughts exactly , I'm a resident up here and already pay what I deem as extortionately high council tax for a relatively small house .
Why should I pay to visit another part of Scotland considering I've contributed for over 40 years up here .

 

[Ivory55]

Taxes are rising on everything, with people arriving daily they all need houses, food and education and you have to pay for it.

 

[MattR]

Fuel duty vehicle excise duty levied across uk so yes we do already pay for the upkeep of highways so no why should we pay twice.

The contribution isn't just for roads and I guess that the allocation for the islands' roads didn't take into account the large number of extra vehicles hitting the roads each summer, especially over the last few years.

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[coroner]

Then they need to be more creative with the begging bowl to central government

 

[MattR]

Then they need to be more creative with the begging bowl to central government

How would you phrase the question? Please CG, can we have some more money to provide more facilities and deal with the consequences of having lots of relatively well off motorhomers, visit us? The whole country can subsidise them....

Shouldn't those who use more pay more?

 

[coroner]

Thats what politician's are for to ask for more resources from the central pot

 

[Otter Spotter]

Sounds reasonable to me. Many motorhomers etc stock up at supermarkets on the mainland and wildcamp as much as possible. Their contributions to the local economies are likely to be relatively low and some of that will be taken up by the greater impact on local facilities.

It is perhaps not unreasonable for those who have an impact to contribute in return.

That could be a bit of a generalisation, I am currently travelling around the Outer Hebrides and the camp sites are full each night with only a very small number of vans wild camping. You could argue that it is a problem for Mull where Tesco’s in Oban gets a hit before Motorhomers travel onto the island, but that is because there are no decent food shops on Mull to obtain a full basket, apart from the Co-Op at Tobermory and the Co-Ops credentials are suspect.
Personally we make a effort to call into the community shops and local producers, especially the sea food sellers and support the locals.

 

[VandM]

Very likely to be the same percentage as is spent per capita everywhere else.
We don’t have this money grabbing by our Yorkshire Dales Authority. What makes the islanders so special?

We seriously need to look at the distribution of our taxes. Councils are only looking at this kind of measure because the budgets they may have enjoyed in the past have been utterly depleted.

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[glenn2926]

We seriously need to look at the distribution of our taxes. Councils are only looking at this kind of measure because the budgets they may have enjoyed in the past have been utterly depleted.

I would hazard a guess that the U.K. tax take is disproportionately spent down south. I cannot in any way prove this but the likes of cross rail and HS2 seem to point in that direction.

 

[MattR]

That could be a bit of a generalisation, I am currently travelling around the Outer Hebrides and the camp sites are full each night with only a very small number of vans wild camping. You could argue that it is a problem for Mull where Tesco’s in Oban gets a hit before Motorhomers travel onto the island, but that is because there are no decent food shops on Mull to obtain a full basket, apart from the Co-Op at Tobermory and the Co-Ops credentials are suspect.
Personally we make a effort to call into the community shops and local producers, especially the sea food sellers and support the locals.

It is a generalisation. But possibly applicable to many. We haven't been to the Outer Hebredes but saw similar things on Mull and Skye.

 

[dash300]

Where does this end. A 'you need to pay to be here' tourist tax in every County of the UK depending on where your vehicle is registered. What if you are just passing through? Need a bit more detail on how it would operate but it looks to me like another revenue stream which perhaps will result in the opposite of what it is designed to achieve. We already have the parking Stazi now progressing to tourist Stazi; show me your papers!

 

[tacr2man]

If they need the money to provide better facilities , how about providing the facilities and charging for them , finance is about as cheap as its going to be to be . Otherwise they are going to be in a position where they are charging for something they are saving up to provide , chicken -egg ?

 

[glenn2926]

It is a generalisation. But possibly applicable to many. We haven't been to the Outer Hebredes but saw similar things on Mull and Skye.

We were on Harris, Lewis earlier this year. Other than Stornaway there wasn’t really anywhere to buy food etc. This isn’t either a fault of the tourist or a fault of the locals. If there is nothing to buy tourists cannot spend. We tried in vain to find restaurants to eat in on Harris. We did find one at Uig Sands on Lewis (very nice) but I did spend well over £300 in the Harris Tweed shop.

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