Latest news with #RickyBell
Daily Record
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
Glasgow pushes forward with plan for Clyde Tunnel tolls for drivers who don't live in city
Critics of the plan have branded it a "tunnel tax" and claimed it would be unfair on drivers from across the west of Scotland. Glasgow is pushing forward with a controversial plan to charge drivers who don't live in the city to use the Clyde Tunnel. Council chiefs are frustrated the cash-strapped local authority has to pay for the upkeep of the underwater crossing as it is not classed as being part of the national road network. The tunnel is not a designated A road which means Transport Scotland has no responsibility for its management. Councillors have now been told a regulatory check must be carried out before a toll scheme for non-city residents can be introduced - but that's unlikely to be completed before the next Scottish Parliament election in May. Glasgow is run by a minority SNP administration with support from the Scottish Greens. But there is unhappiness among Nationalists in the city at Holyrood's refusal to help with the rising cost of maintaining the tunnel. Funding received for the tunnel's operation and maintenance is the same amount per kilometre as for a standard stretch of road, which it has been estimated leads to an annual shortfall of around £820,000. Councillor Angus Millar told a recent full council meeting: "The council has no specific proposals to introduce any road user charging in Glasgow. "However, members will be aware that the council has repeatedly stated its interest in further exploring possibilities around a boundary congestion charge and potential tolling at the Clyde Tunnel – both with exemptions for Glasgow residents." The council's transport convenor added: "Council officers continue to engage with Transport Scotland and COSLA, particularly in relation to national commitments to reduce car vehicle mileage and the potential roll out of road user charging as a travel demand management tool. "Transport Scotland has expressed interest in Glasgow and Edinburgh taking a lead role in exploring road user charging and we anticipate further discussions with City of Edinburgh Council in establishing their interest." The SNP councillor continued: 'We welcome the recent commitment from Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government to undertake legislative and regulatory review to establish how the process can be clarified for local authorities to take forward and this is a matter I have engaged with officials and other councils on via COSLA.' He added: 'We will engage in the coming legislative review to ensure Glasgow is well positioned to consider any developments.' Councillor Ricky Bell previously told the Record he wanted the Scottish Government "to adopt the tunnel into their national portfolio". The City Treasurer said: "The Clyde Tunnel is a piece of national infrastructure in every sense, other than how it is paid for. It is maintained by Glasgow's council taxpayers – regardless of whether they can even drive, let alone use the tunnel. "Despite our efforts to lobby the Scottish Government to adopt the tunnel into their national portfolio, we have been unsuccessful so far. Consequently, we must explore all possible funding options to maintain the services relied upon by hundreds of thousands of Glaswegians and others." But critics of the idea have branded it a "tunnel tax" and claimed it would be unfair on drivers from across the west of Scotland.
The Independent
21-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Tourist taxes: be careful what you wish for, because holidaymakers have choices too
In these divided times, seeing multi-party agreement is uplifting. The setting: Glasgow city administration committee on Thursday 19 June. SNP, Labour, Conservatives and Greens joined in voting in favour of the city's visitor levy. From January 2027, people staying in hotels and all other commercial accommodation in Glasgow will pay 5 per cent on top of the bill. Each year, tourists and business travellers will provide £16m for the council to spend on civic improvements and promoting Glasgow. Edinburgh has already decided to charge overnight guests 5 per cent on top of the room rate, starting in July next year. Good to see the two big Scottish cities agreeing on something, too. Back in Glasgow, Ricky Bell of the SNP said there was 'no evidence to suggest that the introduction of a levy would be detrimental to the city'. Free money, then. And (almost) nobody who lives and votes in Glasgow will pay it. What's not to like? A load of locations across Europe and the wider world already have similar tourist taxes. Paris and Rome hardly seem short of tourists, so Mr Bell is surely right: a levy will not deter visitors. At the risk of disrupting such rare unity, I beg to differ. A couple staying in a three-star hotel in the French capital pay £9.50 per night in Paris tourist tax. I shall assume the room itself costs £110, which is what I have been seeing apart from during the Olympics slump last summer. With accommodation tax at 10 per cent in France, the pair will pay just short of 20 per cent in levies – which corresponds to the current rate of VAT in Scotland and the rest of the UK. With their new 5 per cent charge, Edinburgh and Glasgow will leap ahead in the proportion they extract from tourists. By next summer, the 'stealth' visitor tax on foreigners known as air passenger duty will extract £15 for European flights and £102 for North American visitors. It all adds up. Edinburgh and Glasgow are great cities, and share freely with visitors their immense cultural wealth in the shape of world-class museums and galleries. The assumption is that tourist demand is inelastic – the city councils can put on taxes without dampening the desire to visit. I am not so sure. If it were the case, why stop at 5 per cent – let's try 10, or 20? The UK already looks unwelcoming, with a £16 admission fee in the shape of the Electronic Travel Authorisation and a refusal to accept perfectly secure European Union identity cards – disenfranchising around 300 million EU citizens who don't have passports. Edinburgh is a special case. The capital is a huge tourism draw, home to the industry of government and a key business hub. But Glasgow does not enjoy such fortune. If accommodation looks too pricey, visitors from northern England may switch to day trips; other tourists will stay at properties beyond the city's boundaries and the reach of the levy. Either way, the entire spend at a Glasgow property is lost. Another unintended consequence could be that visitors switch to cheaper, characterless budget hotels rather than independent enterprises. Imposing a flat levy across the year looks odd, too. To stretch the season and persuade people to visit off-peak, it would be smarter to have a 15 per cent tax for the four months from the start of June to the end of September, falling to zero for the rest of the year. Fees for visitors are worthwhile if they are substantial and change behaviour The shrewdest tourism tax I have seen in a long while is the brand-new €20 (£17) charge for each passenger arriving on a cruise ship to the Greek islands of Mykonos and Santorini from July to September. Cruise firms are understandably cross that it has been introduced so late in the day. As Paul Ludlow, president of Carnival UK, told me: 'When things are sprung on us late, it's not the way in which we'd like to work.' The principle, though, is sound: 'We really don't need thousands more people arriving for the day and contributing little to the islands' economies, so the least we can do is extract €50,000 from the average ship.' I support every city, region and nation making choices about taxes and tourism. But every tourist has choice, too.
Glasgow Times
20-06-2025
- Business
- Glasgow Times
New tourist tax in Glasgow approved by councillors
The visitor levy due to be introduced on January, 25, 2027 will see people pay 5% of their accommodation bill for every night of their entire stay. It is expected the fee could bring in about £16 million annually after costs and will apply to hotels, hostels, guest houses, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation. Speaking at the city administration committee today, city treasurer Ricky Bell said he and leader Susan Aitken 'had been lobbying the Scottish Government for some time to give us more powers to be able to raise our own revenues and this is the start of what I hope will be a continuation of those powers being devolved to local government.' It is proposed that hotel operators keep 1.5% of the amount collected to make up for any costs incurred. Organisations who don't comply would face penalties. READ MORE: Councillor Ricky Bell: 'Visitor levy in Glasgow could grow city's tourism offer' Councillors approved the visitor levy at the city administration committee this morning. Cash generated would go towards the look and feel of the city with investment in infrastructure and the 'built and natural environment', as well as culture and events and marketing of the city as a destination to grow visitors. A visitor levy forum is also to be set up to provide advice to the council relating to the scheme and it is proposed those involved in the visitor sector and representatives from communities would have a key role. Employees are to be appointed at Glasgow City Council to handle the process and annual costs are estimated to be about £750,000 to £950,000 – with initial set up expected to be £400,000. Scottish Green councillors moved an amendment at the committee relating to accommodation provider costs stating that they 'may only retain money under this rebate scheme for three years' and providing more details on penalties if they don't pay. The amendment was rejected by Labour, the SNP and a Conservative councillor.
Scotsman
19-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Glasgow tourist tax given go-ahead by councillors with hopes visitor levy will generate £16m
Visitors to the city will pay 5% of their accommodation bill for every night of their stay. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Glasgow's new tourist tax has been given the go-ahead – with visitors to be charged on average £4.83 per night. The visitor levy due to be introduced on January, 25, 2027 will see people pay 5% of their accommodation bill for every night of their entire stay. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It is expected the fee could bring in about £16m annually after costs and will apply to hotels, hostels, guest houses, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation. Speaking at the city administration committee on Thursday, city treasurer Ricky Bell said he and leader Susan Aitken 'had been lobbying the Scottish Government for some time to give us more powers to be able to raise our own revenues and this is the start of what I hope will be a continuation of those powers being devolved to local government.' It is proposed that hotel operators keep 1.5% of the amount collected to make up for any costs incurred. Organisations who don't comply would face penalties. Councillors approved the visitor levy at the city administration committee on Thursday morning (June 19). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Cash generated would go towards the look and feel of the city with investment in infrastructure and the 'built and natural environment' as well as culture and events and marketing of the city as a destination to grow visitors. A visitor levy forum is also to be set up to provide advice to the council relating to the scheme and it is proposed those involved in the visitor sector and representatives from communities would have a key role. Employees are to be appointed at Glasgow City Council to handle the process and annual costs are estimated to be about £750,000 to £950,000 – with initial set up expected to be £400,000. Scottish Green councillors moved an amendment at the committee relating to accommodation provider costs stating that they 'may only retain money under this rebate scheme for three years' and providing more details on penalties if they don't pay.
The National
19-06-2025
- Business
- The National
Plans for Glasgow tourist tax approved by councillors
The visitor levy due to be introduced on January, 25, 2027 will see people pay 5% of their accommodation bill for every night of their entire stay. It is expected the fee could bring in about £16 million annually after costs and will apply to hotels, hostels, guest houses, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation. Speaking at the city administration committee on Thursday, City treasurer Ricky Bell said he and leader Susan Aitken 'had been lobbying the Scottish Government for some time to give us more powers to be able to raise our own revenues and this is the start of what I hope will be a continuation of those powers being devolved to local government.' READ MORE: BAE given £9.2 million to create 300 shipbuilding jobs by Scottish Government It is proposed that hotel operators keep 1.5% of the amount collected to make up for any costs incurred. Organisations who don't comply would face penalties. Councillors approved the visitor levy at the city administration committee on Thursday morning. Cash generated would go towards the look and feel of the city with investment in infrastructure and the 'built and natural environment' as well as culture and events and marketing of the city as a destination to grow visitors. A visitor levy forum is also to be set up to provide advice to the council relating to the scheme and it is proposed those involved in the visitor sector and representatives from communities would have a key role. Employees are to be appointed at Glasgow City Council to handle the process and annual costs are estimated to be about £750,000 to £950,000 – with initial set up expected to be £400,000. Scottish Green councillors moved an amendment at the committee relating to accommodation provider costs stating that they 'may only retain money under this rebate scheme for three years' and providing more details on penalties if they don't pay. The amendment was rejected by Labour, the SNP and a Conservative councillor. Commenting, Scottish Green councillor Blair Anderson, whose motion started the process, said: 'The tourist tax is going to be a game-changer for Glasgow, delivering more money to tidy up our city and make it even more attractive for visitors and residents alike. READ MORE: 300 jobs at risk as London-based firm moves Scottish Power contract to South Africa 'A small contribution from tourists will mean we can invest millions more in street sweeping, bin collections, and getting Glasgow looking good again. 'I'm glad that Greens in Holyrood got this law passed, and I'm grateful to all councillors who have worked with me over recent months to get this tax in place as soon as possible.' Meanwhile, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: 'Glasgow is a global city, drawing visitors from all over the world. But we have seen how over-tourism can damage communities, like in Venice and Barcelona, where the residents end up paying the price. 'The tourist tax is vital to delivering sustainable tourism where local residents feel the benefit of our tourism and events sectors. I'm delighted that Glasgow is continuing to benefit from Green policy in action.'
