New legislation aims to give local councils more choice in how they design and apply a visitor levy to raise funds
The Scottish government has published the Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill, setting out its plans for changes to the current law.
Photo by Julia Taubitz / Unsplash
Under the terms of the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024, local authorities in Scotland have the discretionary power to apply an extra charge on overnight stays in certain types of accommodation, based on a percentage of the cost of that accommodation. The new Bill proposes giving councils additional powers so that they can, if they wish, set the levy as a fixed amount.
If passed by the Scottish Parliament, the new legislation will also allow councils to set a range of fixed amounts. That might include variations for different geographical locations, times of year or types of accommodation.
What’s more, the Bill clarifies how those providing accommodation should report to councils, and how levies are applied to third-party sales such as those made through travel agents.
Ivan McKee MSP, Minister for Public Finance, says: ‘When we introduced the original visitor levy legislation, we wanted to empower councils to implement a scheme that was right for their areas and easy to understand for local businesses. We worked closely with councils and tourism bodies when the original legislation was considered and passed by Parliament. These new proposals will give councils even more flexibility and provide clarity to businesses.
‘We want to ensure visitor levies are an effective option for councils who choose to introduce them to boost investment in local economies and services.’
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