Rachel Reeves has been urged to scrap the tourist tax and stamp duty on share trading to boost the economy.
Lobby group BusinessLDN, which seeks to promote London as a place to do business, yesterday called on the Chancellor to ‘prioritise growth-enhancing’ policies.
The comments came after figures showed the economy shrank by 0.1 per cent in January as business reeled from the £40billion of tax hikes announced in the Budget.
Muniya Barua, deputy chief executive at BusinessLDN, said: ‘Reinstating tax-free shopping for international visitors and scrapping stamp duty on share transactions would help kick-start the economy quickly by sending a clear message to shoppers and investors alike that the UK is open for business.’
Objection: Burberry has called for the tourist tax to be axed
Britain axed VAT-free shopping for overseas visitors following Brexit – hammering demand for expensive goods among affluent tourists.
A host of firms from Burberry and Rolex-seller Watches of Switzerland to Heathrow and hotelier Sir Rocco Forte have opposed the tourist tax.
The Chancellor is also facing calls to axe the 0.5 per cent stamp duty levy on buying UK-listed shares. There is no such charge when buying US equities.
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