{"id":1064,"date":"2025-11-25T16:12:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T16:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/?p=1064"},"modified":"2025-11-25T16:12:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T16:12:21","slug":"london-could-soon-have-a-tourist-tax-after-reeves-autumn-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/?p=1064","title":{"rendered":"London could soon have a \u2018tourist tax\u2019 after Reeves\u2019 Autumn Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

London Mayor Sadiq Khan will be allowed to slap a Venice-style \u2018tourist tax\u2019 on visitors to the capital, under new plans announced by Labour.<\/p>\n

The government set out plans to let regional mayors charge people staying overnight in English cities, in an announcement ahead of the 2025 UK\u00a0Budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tourists would be hit by a nightly tax on staying in hotels and short-term rentals like Airbnbs, with the money going towards funding local projects.<\/p>\n

Khan said a tourist tax is \u2018great news\u2019 for London, which had 89million overnight visitors in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u2018The extra funding will directly support London\u2019s economy, and help cement our reputation as a global tourism and business destination,\u2019 he added.<\/p>\n

Housing secretary Steve Reed said: \u2018Tourists travel from near and far to visit England\u2019s brilliant cities and regions.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re giving our mayors powers to harness this and put more money into local priorities, so they can keep driving growth and investing in these communities for years to come.\u2019<\/p>\n

It comes ahead of Chancellor\u00a0Rachel Reeves<\/a>\u2019 second Budget, which will take place tomorrow afternoon.<\/p>\n

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Full list of drinks set to be hit with Budget sugar tax \u2013 including popular milkshakes<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
Craig Munro<\/a><\/div>\n
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The tax on sugary\u00a0drinks<\/a>\u00a0is about to get a lot broader, with milkshakes brought into line for the first time.<\/p>\n

Sugar content in soft drinks collapsed by 46% in the past five years as a result of the levy introduced by Chancellor\u00a0George Osborne\u00a0<\/a>in 2016, according to the Food and Drink Federation.<\/p>\n

But there was a carve-out for sugary milk-based drinks like milkshakes and lattes.<\/p>\n

Read more below.<\/p>\n

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Scotland\u2019s national drink \u2018under threat\u2019 from sugar tax, say Tories<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
Alex Daniel<\/a><\/div>\n
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The Conservatives have slammed changes to the sugar tax that will hit soft drinks including Irn Bru.<\/p>\n

Andrew Bowie, shadow Scottish secretary, said: \u2018Scotland\u2019s national drink is under threat from this Labour government.<\/p>\n

\u2018Irn-Bru is an institution in its own right and its practically part of Scotland\u2019s DNA. But now it seems Rachel Reeves is set to push its price up by another 5 per cent.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s clear that everyone is going to be punished by this Budget.\u2019<\/p>\n

The tax will soon apply to drinks with 4.5 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres, down from the current 5g.<\/p>\n

That means other soft drinks such as 7Up, Pepsi and Fanta will also be affected as they contain between 4.5g and 4.7g of sugar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Reeves to open the door for London tourist tax in Budget<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
Alex Daniel<\/a><\/div>\n
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Rachel Reeves will reportedly let Mayor of London Sadiq Khan impose a \u2018tourist tax\u2019 on overnight stays in the capital.<\/p>\n

The Chancellor could give regional mayors the power to charge people visiting English cities, with a consultation being announced in tomorrow\u2019s Budget, reported Bloomberg.<\/p>\n

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The plan would see tourists facing a \u00a32 charge on staying in hotels and short-term rentals like AirBnbs. London had 89million overnight visitors in 2024.<\/p>\n

Khan has previously made the case for giving cities like London more tax powers, which would follow the example of other European destinations like Barcelona, Paris and Athens.<\/p>\n

Hospitality groups have opposed tourist taxes in the past because they say it could stop people coming from other parts of the UK for a city break.<\/p>\n

But think tank the Centre for Cities has said it would be unlikely to stop people coming to visit the capital and that its lack of a tourist tax makes it an \u2018international outlier\u2019.<\/p>\n

Metro approached the Treasury for comment.<\/p>\n

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Health secretary Wes Streeting confirms \u2018milkshake tax\u2019 rollout<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
Alex Daniel<\/a><\/div>\n
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Wes Streeting confirmed the sugar tax will soon apply to milk-based packaged drinks like milkshakes and lattes.<\/p>\n

Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, the health secretary said: \u2018Obesity robs children of the best possible start in life, hits the poorest hardest, sets them up for a lifetime of health problems and costs the NHS billions.<\/p>\n

\u2018I can announce to the House we\u2019re expanding the soft drinks industry levy to include bottles and cartons of milkshakes, flavoured milk and milk substitute drinks.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re also reducing the threshold to 4.5 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres.<\/p>\n

\u2018This government will not look away as children get unhealthier and our political opponents urge us to leave them behind.\u2019<\/p>\n

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The Conservatives and Reform UK have opposed extending the sugar tax.<\/p>\n

The announcement comes as part of a range of expected tax rises in the Budget as Rachel Reeves looks to bring in more cash to help pay for improvements to public services.<\/p>\n

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What is the the sugar tax, the milkshake tax and why could the rules change?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
Alex Daniel<\/a><\/div>\n
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The sugar tax applies to cans and cartons of drink that have more than 5g of sugar per 100ml.<\/p>\n

It was brought in by the Conservatives in April 2018 because of high levels of obesity in the country.<\/p>\n

Milk-based drinks like lattes, protein shakes and milkshakes don\u2019t current pay the tax, but that is expected to end in the Budget.<\/p>\n

Health secretary Wes Streeting will also speak in Parliament this morning where could confirm the change.<\/p>\n

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The government has also been looking at bringing down the maximum amount of sugar before the tax kicks in from 5g to 4g.<\/p>\n

When the original sugar tax was brought in, most brands just cut the amount of sugar to just below the threshold to avoid paying it.<\/p>\n

That means it didn\u2019t bring much money in for the government \u2013 but it did make fizzy drinks a bit less unhealthy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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