UK Retailers Demand Return of Tax-Free Shopping in Tourism Plan

UK retailers are renewing efforts to persuade Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists, as the government prepares to set out its plan to boost the so-called visitor economy.

Making purchases exempt from VAT could result in £3.65 billion ($4.9 billion) of additional spending by visitors from the European Union, the Association of International Retail said in a submission to ministers published Tuesday. That’s on top of about £1.5 billion of spending by non-EU visitors the lobby group said was diverted from the UK when it scrapped tax-free shopping in 2021.