Angela Rayner just punched Brits in the guts — it’s too much to take

Angela Rayner is back with a vengeance after being ousted by Sir Keir Starmer’s Cabinet over a failure to pay £40,000 in tax. The “Red Queen”, as she was dubbed by Lord Ashcroft, is very keen on the idea of taxing the domestic tourism industry in order to raise revenue for local authorities. It was first rolled out in Manchester in 2023. Where else? The Government says the power given to regional leaders to impose a levy on visitors staying overnight in their area is “the most significant step in making fiscal devolution a reality”.

Officials added that 10 regional mayors have committed to keeping charges at 5% of overall, standard fees or below. Oh, that’s alright, then. UKHospitality thinks this could result in 33,000 job losses and a £2billion hit to the economy. After the carnage inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, firms need help, not yet another tax.

And ministers are left wondering why so many young people are left without jobs, after businesses were already hit by National Living Wage and employer National Insurance hikes by Rachel Reeves. Hospitality is where many people start their working lives.

This new levy will compound an already hostile situation for employers, and, what is more, it has been reported that evading Ms Rayner’s tourist tax will carry a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison. Proposed measures target accommodation providers in England who could attempt to sidestep the levy, with legislation designed to prevent property owners offering so-called “mates’ rates” to friends that would decrease the amount of tax paid on temporary stays.

It is as if the Government is trying as hard as it possibly can to make things harder for a sector that has already been buffeted by the biggest storm it will likely ever see, with many companies having disappeared as a result, and is now having to operate in still incremental conditions.

It goes against the Prime Minister’s insistence that he wants to help out businesses. At the Budget, the Chancellor announced that the threshold at which small companies start paying rates will rise from £12,000 to £18,000. Before that, Mr Burnham announced a 20% cut to business rates for pubs, social clubs, and live music venues in England. Why do those good things and at the same time increase taxes another way?

It muddies the waters and makes life harder for people trying to run a business, many of which depend on seasonal revenue. And now Ms Rayner is seemingly pushing to imprison people, potentially for more than a decade. Talk about overkill. It’s just too much.