James Evans MS has written to the Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Evans MS who has responsibility for Tourism, calling for urgent action to support Wales’ tourism sector, warning that the Welsh Government’s 182-day occupancy rule is forcing self-catering holiday let businesses to the brink.
Under the current policy, holiday let owners must make their properties available for 252 days and actually let for 182 days per year to qualify for business rates relief. Failing to meet that threshold means being pushed onto council tax, often paying double because of the premiums, leading to bills ranging from £3,000 up to £30,000.
James warns that the policy will catch out genuine businesses in rural areas where seasonal demand makes the threshold impossible to meet. He also raised concerns about the retrospective nature of the charges, slow processing by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the lack of support from cash-strapped councils.
Compounding this issue is the latest attack from Welsh Labour which is the Tourism Levy which is being debated in the Senedd today as part of Stage 3 of this Bill.
James Evans MS said:
“The tourism sector has been attacked by Welsh Labour Government. Many self-catering providers are struggling to meet the new 182-day occupancy rulings and are now facing Council Tax bills of tens of thousands of pounds. This is forcing many businesses to cease trading, having a knock-on effect to other businesses in the area that rely on tourist spend.
“On top of this, Labour are pushing their disastrous Tourism Tax which will charge Welsh people to stay in Wales! Wales relies heavily on the tourism spend – we should be open to visitors, not squeezing every last penny out of the sector.
“Many councils realise this extra charge will drive visitors elsewhere and hurt all businesses in the area. They have discretion not to introduce the levy. Pembrokeshire have said no. I urge the Lib Dems in Powys County Council to do likewise and rule out a Tourism Tax in Powys.”
