A view of the Edinburgh skyline showing the Balmoral Clock and Princes Street, Edinburgh, Scotland
THE City of Edinburgh has become the first local authority in Scotland to agree to levy a tourist tax.
At a meeting of the council, held online as Storm Eowyn scythed across Scotland, elected members backed a 5 per cent charge on hotels, bed and breakfasts and holiday let stays in the city.
The tax will apply to bookings made after May 1 this year, for stays from July 24 2026 onwards, and is expected to swell council coffers to the tune of £50 million a year.
The Federation of Small Businesses’ Garry Clark accused the council of a “headlong rush to be the first” to introduce the charge after Holyrood passed legislation to levy it last year.
But in the run-up to the vote, Labour council leaderJane Meagher argued it would “benefit our city, our residents and our visitors for many years to come.”
She said: “At all stages of this process, we’ve listened to, and taken account of, the views of residents, industry and other stakeholders — and we mustn’t lose sight of just how much positivity there is for the scheme across all of these groups.”
Tackling poverty in Scotland cannot happen without properly funded public services. Unison is leading the debate
