Glasgow considering 'tourist tax' ahead of budget to bring in extra cash

A council official said Glasgow could follow Edinburgh in making moves to bring in the levy but the idea is already facing opposition.

Manchester has recently imposed the tax which sees visitors paying an extra £1 per night added to the cost of their hotel room.

Speaking at a meeting yesterday, Labour councillor Catherine Vallis said a tourist tax might be “nice” with the budget approaching.

Glasgow councillors must approve a budget next month in difficult financial conditions and it is expected significant savings may need to be made.

In response to a query from councillor Vallis about a visitor charge, a council official said “legislation is going through for that.”

He said: “We are making progress but there is a long lead in time. It is fair to say the industry is heavily opposed to this.”

He added: “Edinburgh is probably leading on that. We may choose to follow in their footsteps rather than trying to get in front of them to manage that process through.”

The Scottish Government is proposing to give councils powers to introduce a visitor charge to bring in money for local facilities and services.

The comments on a potential tourist tax for Glasgow were made as the Operational Performance and Delivery Scrutiny Committee were given an update on revenue raising options to generate cash for the council yesterday. An official said revenue raising options were part of broader work led by COSLA jointly with the Scottish Government.

He said examples include the visitor levy, changes to council tax for second and empty homes, workplace parking charges and congestion charges.

He said the proposals are progressing through COSLA at varying rates. He said the council’s cross party budget working group are holding a session next week covering a “couple” revenue raising options to discuss in detail. But he said: “The likelihood of anything being in place in 2024 to 2025 (upcoming financial year) is very slim but within the lifetime of this session is more likely.”

He said the council tax freeze means any changes to that are on hold currently.

The discussion took place as the committee meeting was given updates on the progress of missions undertaken as part of the council’s challenge to ” enable staff to deliver essential services in a sustainable, innovative and efficient way for our communities.”