Western Isles Tax on Visiting Motorhomes

2cv

2cv

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Plans are being discussed to tax motorhome users visiting the Western Isles. Link
 
I don’t have a problem with this if it results in more informal places to stay, and provision of necessary services outside campsites.

In Germany many National park and other areas which are overburdened with tourists charge a small daily tourist tax on ALL visitor accommodation (not just motorhomes) including Stellplatzen. Only 1 or 2€ per night, but it includes free public transport to help reduce road traffic, and gives discounts on many businesses and attractions. I’ve seen that these measures really do encourage people onto local transport and into places they may otherwise bypass. It seems to work very well, the standard of public services and local transport is high.

After all in many tourist areas the visitor population can outnumber the number of residents whose taxes would otherwise struggle to support the necessary infrastructure.
 
2cv said:
Plans are being discussed to tax motorhome users visiting the Western Isles. Link
Click to expand...
Reading the link it goes further than that even mentions £2 a nite tourist tax for Edinburgh this is just going to be a tax gathering exercise by councils with anyone suppling tourist stops doing the collecting for them. Where will it end £5 a night for a aire+ £2 pp tourist tax were up to £9 a night now
 
as soon as the principle is put in place, you can be sure the price will go up and up.

Case in point .... University charging. Originally that was mean to be a maximum of £9,000 a year for the most exclusive ones, but rapidly became the standard price for just about every higher education establishment in England.

It will be a disaster and will backfire massively I would say.
 
witzend said:
Reading the link it goes further than that even mentions £2 a nite tourist tax for Edinburgh this is just going to be a tax gathering exercise by councils with anyone suppling tourist stops doing the collecting for them. Where will it end £5 a night for a aire+ £2 pp tourist tax were up to £9 a night now
Click to expand...
Think tourist tax exists in a few countries ?
Think tourist tax for motorhomes only is clearly unfair
 
Yet another cheap jibe on the last paragraph towards us.:mad:
So let’s look at this.
CalMac now treat us differently from everyone else by not allowing us alone to join any queues for ferries, then once we arrive on the island we are treated like parasites by us alone having to pay a Levi. I have nothing against paying directly for any services that we use such as elsan points, but a levy that is solely for us is wrong. What about people who turn up in cars with tents, they will be using facilities, and they are far more likely to leave human waste and rubbish than we are. Yet another article that portrays us in a poor light. This has nothing to do with the money, and everything to do with principle, and on principle alone it’s wrong. But why am I not surprised at this anymore.
 
I understand the principle, but I'm unclear as to the legality of this?
I pay my road tax, which allows me to drive on public roads throughout the UK. These are public roads and still in the UK and as such I should be allowed to drive on them in my taxed vehicle.

If the additional tax levy on motorhomes is because motorhomers and campervan users are leaving rubbish at the side of the road (I then assume the tax is to pay for someone to clear up the rubbish) then on that logic, if I pay the levy I can leave my rubbish on the side of the road as I'll be keeping someone in a job!
 
Unfortunately I haven't got time to research this but off the top of my head I thought Islanders already got more out of their paid taxes than main landers cos they pay the same but services and amenities cost more to provide.

If correct I feel the tourists have already paid 🤷‍♂️
 
Another point worth mentioning.
For years these Islanders complained about the cost of the ferries.
Before the Scottish Government brought in Road Tariff equivalent fares for Arran,17 years ago it would have cost around £140 to take a car over with a driver and a passenger. If RTE was not in place it would be around £180-190 now. You can do it for £49.50 return today with a 6m motorhome. And guess who is paying for this, the same folk they want to tax for visiting their island in a motorhome.

They complained that it was to expensive to travel to the mainland, and that it was affecting local business opportunities.
Well they got their RTE, and all some have done since it seems is complain about the increased volume of traffic.
The amount of motorhomes on these Islands is tiny in comparison to the amount of cars, yet some never stop complaining about us.
We have made two crossings to Arran this year.
On the first crossing of the 88 vehicles we were the only motorhome in July, in September there was two motorhomes including ourselves.

The fact is these Islanders are amongst the most heavily subsidised people in the UK, and I am all in favour of them being so.
If they become unwell they are lifted by helicopter to a mainland hospital.
It seems that some of them are not happy, and I reckon that they mainly are not original residents.
 
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Fisherman said:
Another point worth mentioning.
For years these Islanders complained about the cost of the ferries.
Before the Scottish Government brought in Road Tariff equivalent fares for Arran,17 years ago it would have cost around £140 to take a car over with a driver and a passenger. If RTE was not in place it would be around £180-190 now. You can do it for £49.50 return today with a 6m motorhome. And guess who is paying for this, the same folk they want to tax for visiting their island in a motorhome.

They complained that it was to expensive to travel to the mainland, and that it was affecting local business opportunities.
Well they got their RTE, and all some have done since it seems is complain about the increased volume of traffic.
The amount of motorhomes on these Islands is tiny in comparison to the amount of cars, yet some never stop complaining about us.
We have made two crossings to Arran this year.
On the first crossing of the 88 vehicles we were the only motorhome in July, in September there was two motorhomes including ourselves.

The fact is these Islanders are amongst the most heavily subsidised people in the UK, and I am all in favour of them being so.
If they become unwell they are lifted by helicopter to a mainland hospital.
It seems that some of them are not happy, and I reckon that they mainly are not original residents.
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Yes, but if there were no motorhomes visiting, what could they moan about!
 
In fairness on reading the article again it says that the islanders are to be consulted, maybe they will feel that it is a bad idea and veto it
 
I don't have a problem with a tourist tax though it would , possibly , affect my business . Actually not sure if I agree or disagree . What , apparently , being proposed is a motorhome tax not a tourist tax .
There is talk of making 'a small contribution towards the infrastructure they are required to put in place' . Love to know what infrastructure they mean .
If it was for motorhome specific things like water , waste facilities then fair enough .
Of course that would mean these facilities would then be free to use , wouldn't it ?
 
I'm finding the idea of taxing each other for visiting parts different parts of Britain very sad. Imagine charging Islanders to visit Edinburgh and vice versa, what path are we going down at the moment :(

BBC News - Fresh call for Edinburgh 'tourist tax'
www.bbc.co.uk

Fresh call for Edinburgh 'tourist tax'

Transform Scotland claims a Transient Visitor Levy (TVL) would protect Edinburgh.
www.bbc.co.uk
 
Tookey said:
In fairness on reading the article again it says that the islanders are to be consulted, maybe they will feel that it is a bad idea and veto it
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Tookey as I indicated in my post, I reckon that most of these complaints don't come from the original islanders, but some who have moved there in recent decades. And they tend to be the most politically active.
 
We spent a month in the Hebrides in 2018 with only 6 nights on campsites (one to allow me to mend my rear valance). Some nights were on "accepted" places where we put £5 per night into a honesty box; several were at ferry ports. It was a real pleasure to find so many facilities with black waste disposal available free of charge.

We stopped at local shops for coffee and cake on most days and the proprietors were always willing to fill up our two 10litre drinking bottles. Coop shops, with very reasonably priced goods, were available in many villages and laundry was easy to sort.

Driving was simple: everyone (apart from one old lady) used the passing places on single track roads and most were willing to help the MH keep travelling. The wildlife was superb and there were several historic sites.

It was one of our best UK holidays! A small tourist tax wouldn't stop us from returning.

Gordon
 
Norfolk NewBoy said:
We spent a month in the Hebrides in 2018 with only 6 nights on campsites (one to allow me to mend my rear valance). Some nights were on "accepted" places where we put £5 per night into a honesty box; several were at ferry ports. It was a real pleasure to find so many facilities with black waste disposal available free of charge.

We stopped at local shops for coffee and cake on most days and the proprietors were always willing to fill up our two 10litre drinking bottles. Coop shops, with very reasonably priced goods, were available in many villages and laundry was easy to sort.

Driving was simple: everyone (apart from one old lady) used the passing places on single track roads and most were willing to help the MH keep travelling. The wildlife was superb and there were several historic sites.

It was one of our best UK holidays! A small tourist tax wouldn't stop us from returning.

Gordon
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Sorry Gordon, but it’s not a tourist tax that’s being proposed. It’s a Motorhome tax.

Islanders are to be consulted on a plan to tax tourists visiting the Western Isles in motorhomes and campervans.

Also speaking for myself this has got nothing to do with money, it’s the principle that we alone should pay any tax. Also for reasons already given, I am opposed to any kind of tourist tax anywhere. This could be a slippery slope. We heavily subsidise these islands with our taxes, and I fully support this. I have nothing against direct payments for any facilities provided for us such as elsan points.
And I to would still head there regardless, but it’s still a serious injustice to apply a tourist tax on us solely.
 
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Hello, all, this is my first post here. I joined because, having been incensed by the new no standby discrimination, I was further dismayed to read about this proposed levy in my local online paper today and wanted to find out if others were too and if anything could be done to fight this before it happens.

Tookey said:
In fairness on reading the article again it says that the islanders are to be consulted, maybe they will feel that it is a bad idea and veto it
Click to expand...

Tookey, I am an islander, well, an incomer at any rate, and if anyone actually does bother to consult me I will veto it but I have no expectation that many others will as there is a lot of vitriol aimed at campervans where I live from locals and incomers alike. Besides that when councils say they will consult they just ask questions after they've decided what they want to do and then go ahead and do what they want anyway regardless in my experience.

It would serve the Western Isles Council and CalMac right if campervans stopped coming altogether and then they'll be pleading with us to come and spend money and fill up the ferries before long.

Please can everyone who disagrees with this discriminatory, unjust and repellant idea write to the Council to protest - address below:

Convenor Norman MacDonald
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Council Offices,
Sandwick Rd,
Stornoway
HS1 2BW
 
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