The bill proposes giving power to Local Authorities to decide whether to charge a levy on visitor accommodation in their area. Currently moorings and berthing for boats is included under the definition of ‘accommodation’.
https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/visitor-levy-scotland-bill/stage-1
We have provided our submission to the Public Consultation, which we hope takes into account all the aspects that we believe may affect the boating community in Scotland. The full response is below.
You can engage with the consultation and have your voice heard directly via the “Public Consultation”, which closes on the 15th September – which gives you the ability to respond to the formal consultation questions.
Visitor Levy Bill – call for views – About you – Scottish Parliament – Citizen Space
RYA Scotland Response to Proposed Visitor Levy.
Q1) What are your views on whether local authorities should have a power to place a levy (a type of additional charge or fee) on top of the price charged for overnight accommodation in their area?
No comment except to stress that, before any such powers are granted to local authorities, the definitions in the Bill need to be improved. The “types of accommodation” listed should be amended as “boat moorings or berthings” are not typically recognised under normal definitions of accommodation, as they are primarily a safe haven for the vessel.
Q2) Given that the Bill is likely to result in different councils introducing a visitor levy in different ways or not doing so at all, what impact do you think the Bill will have in your area and across different parts of Scotland? For example, this could include any impact (positive or negative) on local authority finances, local accountability and flexibility, businesses, or on numbers of overnight visitors.
RYA Scotland represents the interests of the boating community from across Scotland. We have concerns that as the responsibilities and liabilities for administering the levy falls on operators of mooring and berthing facilities, a great many of which are operated by volunteer groups on both the islands and the mainland, where there are no harbours or marinas, this could lead to the closure of important refuges and safe havens with a concomitant negative impact on maritime safety and on local economies such as shops, pubs and restaurants.
Q3) Do you agree with the Bill’s definitions of a “chargeable transaction” and of “overnight accommodation”? If not, what definitions do you think would be better?
RYA Scotland understands a key concept of the Bill is for the “levy to be charged on the purchase of overnight accommodation”. It also notes the levy is to be charged in respect of a “chargeable transaction” and “becomes payable when a person takes entry to overnight accommodation in pursuance of the transaction”. We would argue that the chargeable transaction for moorings and berthings is for the provision of a safe haven for the boat. The transaction is not for “the purchase for the value of the right to reside in or at overnight accommodation”.
By retaining “boat moorings and berthings” in Part 2, Section 4 (2) of the Bill, the levy could be applied to all mooring and berthing charges. This is irrespective of whether the moored boat has capacity for onboard accommodation, whether the boater(s) stays ashore overnight, and irrespective of whether the mooring or berth is located within the boater’s own local authority area where he or she will already be contributing to the cost of local services by paying council tax.
The Policy Memorandum sets out the reasons why the Visitor Levy is not applicable to cruise ships, including the argument that ”a cruise ship is not fixed in one location and those on board it are travelling to a number of locations whilst in the one vessel” Given the nature of boating we believe there is an equally strong case for making leisure marine, especially the providers of boat moorings and berthings, exempt from the levy.
Q4) What are your views on the Bill’s proposal to allow councils to set the levy as a percentage of the chargeable transaction? Are there any other arrangements that you think might be better? If so, please give examples and a short description of the reasons why.
No Comment
Q5) What are your views on the absence of an upper limit to the percentage rate (which would be for councils to decide) and that it could be different for different purposes or different areas within the local authority area, but not for different types of accommodation?
RYA Scotland would be concerned if there was no nationally agreed upper limit to the percentage rate that local authorities could set the levy at. If some local authorities were able to charge much higher visitor levies, businesses would face an uneven playing field which could, in turn, adversely impact the wider economy, including the leisure marine sector in different parts of the country. An effect of this would be a reduction in the number of providers of safe berthing and mooring options in different regions of Scotland, particularly in outlying areas.
Q6) The Bill would allow councils to apply local exemptions and rebates to some types of guests if they choose to. It also allows the Scottish Government to set exemptions and rebates on a national basis where it considers it appropriate. What are your views on the Bill’s proposals in relation to exemptions and rebates?
RYA Scotland welcomes the fact the Bill makes provision for exemptions and rebates to be applied nationally through subsequent regulations brought forward by the Scottish Government. It also accepts there may be a case for allowing local authorities to introduce their own exemptions and rebates. There are numerous reasons why marinas, harbour authorities and other mooring providers should be exempt from being liable to pay the levy, not least that boat moorings and berthings are for all types of leisure boats, including fishing boats, RIBS, day boats and cruising boats many of which do not even have capacity for accommodation.
Q7) Do you agree with the Bill’s requirements around the introduction and administration of a visitor levy scheme, including those relating to consultation, content, and publicity (Sections 11 to 15)? Are there any other requirements you think should be met before any introduction of the levy in a given area?
RYA Scotland believes that the impact of a levy on the marine sector has not been fully considered and evaluated. An impact study of the levy on marinas, berth holders and community run facilities and the possible impact on the marine leisure industry should be undertaken before introduction.
Q8) What are your views on the Bill’s requirements for local authorities in respect of records keeping, reporting, and reviewing? (Sections 16, 18 and 19)
No comment
Q9) The Bill requires that net proceeds of the scheme should only be used to “achieve the scheme’s objectives” and for “developing, supporting, and sustaining facilities and services which are substantially for or used by persons visiting the area of the local authority for leisure purposes.” Do you agree with how the Bill proposes net proceeds should be used and if not, how do you think net proceeds should be used?
No comment though we note that councils can fund the administration costs of the scheme from the funds collected, but the private and commercial entities who are actually implementing the scheme and collecting funds on the council’s behalf, have no means of being compensated for their time and resources that they are expending to do so. It should also be noted that boaters place very little, if any, additional pressure on local services such as roads, parking, housing or other accommodation, nor on local waste and recycling facilities other than those provided by harbours and marinas.
Q10) What are your views on the Bill’s requirements for accommodation providers to identify the chargeable part of their overnight rates, keep records, make returns, and make payments to relevant local authorities? Are there any other arrangements that you think would be better, for example, by reducing any “administrative burden” for accommodation providers?
In considering the administrative burden it would place on “liable persons” it is worth noting that Scottish marinas are predominantly small or micro businesses and there are also other berth and mooring providers which include small voluntary-led community organisations that provide vital boating amenities around our coasts. We already know that such organisations struggle to attract and retain sufficient volunteers to maintain the services they offer. Forcing them to calculate, charge and return visitor levies from boaters using moorings would be hugely challenging and is likely to deter people from volunteering. With a loss of staff, increased financial and administrative burdens, it would be very hard for such organisations, located in the off-lying regions and island communities, to maintain their services. It could well result in a loss of vital moorings. It is also worth noting that administering the levy for small, community-run enterprises whose annual footfall may be only 300-500 transactions per year, is likely to be at net cost to Councils. Setting the levy at a high % will further disincentivise both boaters and providers and be counter-productive.
Q11) Do you have any comments on Part 5 of the Bill (Enforcement and Penalties and Appeals)? Are there any other arrangements that you think might be more appropriate in ensuring compliance and reducing the risk of avoidance?
No comment
Q12) Do you have any comments on the issues that the Scottish Government proposes to deal with in regulations after the Bill has been passed? (Set out in the Delegated Powers Memorandum) Are there any that you think should be included in the Bill itself rather than being dealt with by regulations and if so, why?
We welcome the provision in the Bill for Scottish Ministers, by regulations, “to remove a type of accommodation from being included in (2)”. However, our preferred approach is to recognise from the outset the moorings and berthings should not be included in the “types of accommodation” listed.
Q13) Do you have any comments on the accuracy of the estimated costs for the Scottish Government, local authorities, accommodation providers and others as set out in the Financial Memorandum and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA)?
As far as we are aware, no Scottish marina, harbour, business with associated moorings or community operated facility was invited to participate in the engagement exercises that informed the estimated costs set out in the Financial Memorandum. We can only assume that was because marinas at that time were correctly not considered to be accommodation providers. We are therefore unable to comment in any detail on the estimated costs although, given our knowledge of variety and complexity of possible berthing scenarios, we anticipate that the costs would be excessively high for berth and mooring providers to try and apply the levy.
RYA Scotland engages positively to promote and protect recreational boating within Scotland’s legal framework while working alongside Marine Scotland, the Scottish Government, Local Authorities and other industry and interested parties.
The RYA provides a range of practical advice and experience across the boating world. Further topics on a UK level are available in the Representation section of the RYA website.
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