英国拟赋予英格兰各市长开征过夜旅客税权力UK Moves to Grant English Mayors Power to Levy Tourist Tax

按照英国政府提出的政策方案，英格兰各区域市长将获得设立过夜旅客税的法定权力，覆盖酒店、民宿及其他各类过夜住宿形式。中央政府官员表示，该税费不会采用固定金额的收费方式，而是按实际住宿费用的百分比进行计收。此项设计旨在避免对经济型度假产生不合理负担，使得预算有限的旅客所承担的绝对税额保持在较低水平。

Under the policy framework drawn up by ministers, regional mayors across England will receive statutory authority to levy an overnight visitor charge on hotels, bed and breakfasts, and other short-stay accommodation. Government officials specified that the mechanism will calculate the fee as a percentage of total room costs rather than applying a flat nightly rate. This structure is intended to ensure that budget holidaymakers do not face disproportionate costs, keeping the absolute expense lower for cheaper accommodation.

该赋权方案的一个关键特征是中央政府未对市长设定法定的税率上限，而是交由地方领导人与当地选民自主评估并决定最契合本地区情况的征税水平。内阁官员认为地方市长不会将费率制定得过高。此外，获得赋权的地方政府必须在2028年3月之前明确并公布相关税收的投资与支出规划，重点投向地区交通网络升级和公共服务改善。

A central component of the devolved power is that the central government has proposed no statutory cap on the rate mayors can introduce, leaving local leaders and voters to determine what level of taxation suits their area. Ministers stated they do not expect regional mayors to make the charge overly expensive. Additionally, local authorities intending to use the power must formally set out detailed expenditure and investment blueprints by March 2028, directing the generated funds toward local public services and regional transport upgrades.

代表数千家餐厅、酒店及酒吧的行业机构英国酒店餐饮行业协会（UKHospitality）对该政策提出异议。该协会首席执行官艾伦·辛普森接受英国广播公司第4台《今日》节目采访时表示，英格兰度假支出因较高的增值税已然偏高，新征税方案将使英格兰家庭度假平均增加约100至120英镑开支。该机构警告称，如果按5%的费率征收，将属于欧洲最高水平之列，可能导致部分度假公园在淡季无法正常营业，并令部分地方社区的就业岗位面临风险。

UKHospitality, which represents thousands of hotels, restaurants, and pubs, strongly challenged the government's proposal. The trade body's chief executive, Allen Simpson, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that domestic holidays in the UK were already expensive due to higher VAT rates, estimating that the new levy would add an average of £100 to £120 to the cost of a family holiday in England. The association warned that setting a tax at 5% would rank among the highest in Europe, threatening jobs in some local communities and leaving holiday parks unable to operate during shoulder seasons.

该行业协会还指出，欧洲主要城市如巴黎、罗马和柏林均对旅游税设有法定上限，而英格兰方案赋予市长开放式且不设上限的征税权力。由于地方政府财政长期承压，若仅下放单一税种权力，地方市长可能会过度依赖并频繁提高该税率。该协会已致信首相安迪·伯纳姆，建议中央政府改用“度假红利”方案，依据各地区吸引的游客数量将中央财政税收下拨给地方议会，而非直接向旅客加税。

The trade body also contrasted the English plan with capped tourist taxes in European destinations such as Paris, Rome, and Berlin, expressing concern over granting mayors open-ended and uncapped tax-raising powers. With local authorities facing persistent funding pressures, the group cautioned that mayors would be incentivised to raise the rate excessively. UKHospitality has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham proposing an alternative 'holiday bonus' scheme, which would devolve existing central government revenues to councils based on visitor numbers instead of levying new charges on tourists.

英格兰多位地方领导人对拟议的征税赋权表达了明确支持。伦敦市长萨迪克·汗此前曾与其他市长联名致信当时的财政大臣蕾切尔·里夫斯和文化大臣莉萨·南迪，敦促中央政府推行过夜旅客税。汗市长在周四上午表示该政策应当尽早落地。伦敦市长办公室消息人士指出，按百分比计费的方案受到欢迎，虽然具体方案设计和资金分配尚未最终敲定，但预计任何税率都不会超过住宿费用的5%，并将助力支持伦敦经济增长和改善游客服务体验。

Regional leaders in England welcomed the proposed tax-raising powers, which London Mayor Sadiq Khan said need to happen sooner rather than later. Khan and other regional mayors had previously written to culture secretary Lisa Nandy and then-chancellor Rachel Reeves urging the central government to introduce a visitor levy. Sources in the London mayor's office welcomed the percentage-based mechanism, stating that while design and revenue allocation details remained undecided, any eventual charge would not exceed 5% of accommodation costs and would support economic growth and visitor services in the capital.

将该项征税权下放给地方市长，是首相安迪·伯纳姆推动更广泛权力下放议程的重要组成部分。不过，地方议会层面对税收收入的利益共享机制提出了诉求。威斯敏斯特市议会领袖保罗·斯瓦德尔警告称，如果伦敦市长不将收取的资金与各区议会进行合理分配，这项新税收将无法为威斯敏斯特本地的居民和商业企业带来实质利益。

Devolving the power to regional leaders fits into Prime Minister Andy Burnham's wider decentralisation agenda, but the proposal has prompted calls from local councils for revenue sharing. Paul Swaddle, the leader of Westminster City Council, cautioned that if the London mayor does not distribute a portion of the generated proceeds to individual borough councils, the new visitor charge will deliver zero tangible benefit to Westminster residents and local businesses.

在英格兰法定旅客税推出之前，部分城市已试行由商业主导的收费机制。曼彻斯特在安迪·伯纳姆担任大曼彻斯特市长期间于2023年4月推出了城市访客收费，按每间客房每晚收取1英镑；利物浦也设立了每晚2英镑的收费项目。这类由酒店自愿统筹资金的模式旨在资助当地旅游业推广，但地区市长此前并不具备强制开征此类法定税费的权力。

Prior to the proposed statutory levy for England, business-led visitor charges were already operating in selected English cities. In April 2023, Manchester introduced a £1 per room per night City Visitor Charge under Andy Burnham's mayoral tenure to fund tourism promotion, while Liverpool operates a £2 nightly charge. These initiatives rely on hotels voluntarily pooling funds to support local tourism, as regional mayors currently lack statutory authority to impose mandatory visitor fees on their own.

在英国其他地区，苏格兰议会去年通过立法赋予地方议会征税权后，爱丁堡于7月成为苏格兰首个开征5%旅游税的城市；威尔士则计划从2027年4月起允许地方议会对大部分住宿按每人每晚收取1.30英镑。过夜旅客税在国际上亦广泛存在，包括纽约、阿姆斯特丹、威尼斯和巴塞罗那等城市均通过住宿收费资助公共服务，而巴黎、罗马与柏林等欧洲主要城市普遍对收费设定了法定上限。

Elsewhere in the UK, Edinburgh became the first Scottish city to introduce a 5% tourist tax in July following legislation passed by the Scottish parliament, and Welsh councils are scheduled to gain powers to charge £1.30 per person per night across most accommodations from April 2027. Overnight visitor levies are also established internationally, with cities including New York, Amsterdam, Venice, and Barcelona using accommodation charges to fund local public services, though destinations such as Paris, Rome, and Berlin maintain statutory caps on their fees.