The Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers (ASSC) respectfully declines to comment on City of Edinburgh Council’s latest survey on Edinburgh’s plans to introduce a visitor levy. We do this as this consultation is premature as the Scottish Government’s Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill has not been passed by the Scottish Parliament.
We believe that any substantive discussion on a proposed Edinburgh Visitor Levy should wait until the Bill has progressed through parliament, once the Council has obtained the full legal power to implement a levy and when the precise nature of any charge is known. In the event that the Bill is taken forward by policymakers, we will constructively engage with the Edinburgh Council, as part of a proper consultation exercise with all salient information at our disposal, to help develop any levy in a manner which best supports the city’s visitor economy.
As background, the ASSC’s response to the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee call for views on the Bill at Stage 1 can be accessed here: https://www.assc.co.uk/industry-news/assc-response-to-local-government-planning-and-housing-committee-call-for-views-on-visitor-levy-scotland-bill
Deadline to respond is 19th January: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/r/VisitorLevyforEdinburgh