Tourist Spending: VAT - Question

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 3:17 pm on 24 May 2023.

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Photo of Baroness Penn Baroness Penn The Parliamentary Secretary, HM Treasury 3:17, 24 May 2023

My Lords, I reassure the noble Baroness that the Government continue to monitor the evidence around VAT shopping, as we do keep all taxes under review. As to the process the Government went through in making their decision, I reassure the noble Baroness that we engaged with a wide variety of stakeholders on the removal of the VAT scheme, including Border Force, retailers, VAT refund providers, refund agents, airport operators and shoppers. That research took place in parallel with a consultation which produced a range of views. So the Government did make every effort to look at the evidence available when reaching this decision, including their analysis of the costs of the policy.