Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill
The Bill aims to allow a visitor levy, a type of fee or tax, to be charged on overnight stays in some types of accommodation. Section 4 of the Bill explains what types of accommodation these could be. This means that a certain amount of money would be paid to the local authority every time someone stayed overnight in accommodation like a hotel, bed and breakfast or holiday cottage (unless it is the place where the person usually lives). Each local authority would be able to decide if it wanted to introduce a charge and what the level of the charge should be.
The Bill is at Stage 3
Contents
Overview
The Bill aims to allow a visitor levy, a type of fee or tax, to be charged on overnight stays in some types of accommodation. This means that a certain amount of money would be paid to the local authority every time someone stayed overnight in accommodation like a hotel, bed and breakfast or holiday cottage (unless it is the place where the person usually lives). Each local authority would be able to decide if it wanted to introduce a charge and what the level of the charge should be.
Read more about what this Bill does in the explanatory notes (305KB, pdf) posted 24 May 2023
Why the Bill was created
Some local authorities would like to have the power to tax people who visit their local area. This would make money which could then help with the cost of certain local services and facilities.
The Scottish Government has decided that local authorities should be able to place a charge on visitors paying to stay in overnight accommodation if they would like to.
Read more about why this Bill has been created in the policy memorandum (336KB, pdf) posted 24 May 2023