{"id":7058638,"date":"2026-09-10T16:19:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T16:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/uk-politics-visitor-levy-powers-should-be-in-place-by-march-2028-in-england-ministers-say-as-it-happened-politics\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T16:19:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T16:19:03","slug":"uk-politics-visitor-levy-powers-should-be-in-place-by-march-2028-in-england-ministers-say-as-it-happened-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7058638","title":{"rendered":"UK politics: Visitor levy powers should be in place by March 2028 in England, ministers say \u2013 as it happened | Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Ministers say visitor levy powers in England should be in place by March 2028, as ‘first step’ towards fiscal devolution<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government<\/strong> has now published its plans for a visitor levy<\/a>, or tourism tax, in England. The plans are explained in a formal response to the consultation process launched at the end of last year.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s document says mayors should be able to set out plans for how they will use the money from the levy by March 2028.<\/p>\n

In their foreword to the document, Jim McMahon<\/strong>, the local government minister, and James Murray<\/strong>, the Treasury minister, say the overnight visitor levy (OVL) is just the first step in the government\u2019s fiscal devolution programme. They say:<\/p>\n

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double quotation mark<\/title><\/svg>This government is determined to \u2026 put power, responsibility and accountability back in the hands of local leaders across the whole of the UK. Within England, the overnight visitor levy is our first step towards implementing the blueprint we set out in the cabinet statement<\/a>, to shift power out of Westminster. Along with our plans to devolve a portion of income tax and enable mayors to retain some of the business rates generated in their areas, the levy represents our commitment to creating an accountable state, responsible to local people.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And this is what the document says about the case for the OVL.<\/p>\n

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double quotation mark<\/title><\/svg>OECD research has found that enhanced fiscal decentralisation is associated with higher economic growth and regional convergence \u2013 suggesting that doubling the share of tax or spending controlled by subnational governments is associated with an increase in national GDP per capita by 3% on average. Yet England remains one of the most centralised countries in the developed world, with only a small proportion of taxes raised and retained locally. According to the latest OECD data, just 6% of national taxes are collected at the sub-national level in the UK \u2013 far below the EU average and the lowest in the G7. In contrast, countries such as France, Japan, and the USA have much higher shares of local tax collection, enabling greater local investment and economic dynamism.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n