Exports: VAT
(asked on 29th January 2024) - View Source
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his oral contribution of 22 November 2023, Official Report column 349, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the VAT Retail Export Scheme cost around £2.5 billion a year; and if he will publish the methodology underpinning this costing.
This question was answered on 6th February 2024
The Growth Plan, published in 2022 (https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/the-growth-plan), indicated that introducing a worldwide scheme would come at a fiscal cost of around £2 billion each year. This figure consists of the cost from EU and non-EU visitors and is based on the same methodology as costings of the abolition of VAT RES and the associated airside scheme published in 2020 (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fbd2087d3bf7f5735e29b41/Policy_costings_2020_final.pdf). Updating that figure with the latest economic determinants suggests the cost would be in the region of £2.5bn.
The Growth Plan, published in 2022 (https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/the-growth-plan), indicated that introducing a worldwide scheme would come at a fiscal cost of around £2 billion each year. This figure consists of the cost from EU and non-EU visitors and is based on the same methodology as costings of the abolition of VAT RES and the associated airside scheme published in 2020 (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fbd2087d3bf7f5735e29b41/Policy_costings_2020_final.pdf). Updating that figure with the latest economic determinants suggests the cost would be in the region of £2.5bn.