No decision on tourist tax discount, says mayor

Liverpool City Region includes Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral councils

It is not yet known whether people living in the Liverpool City Region (LCR) will benefit from a discounted tourist tax rate, the metro mayor has said.

The decision to allow regional mayors to introduce a levy on overnight stays was confirmed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the Budget.

LCR mayor Steve Rotheram, who has campaigned for the levy since 2017, said his combined authority had yet to decide how the tax would be administered.

People staying overnight in Liverpool have already paid a £2 per night City Visitor Charge since June. The new levy will be introduced once that scheme expires in 2027.

Two key differences will be that it will cover the entire LCR and include properties rented through Airbnb.

Rotheram was asked by the BBC if a person from Liverpool would receive a discount if they stayed in a hotel in Southport overnight.

Rotheram replied: "Well not necessarily, because we haven't gone into the detail of how it would be administered because it's not us who collects it.

"It'd be the hoteliers and those people who run caravan parks.

Cash distribution

"So if you notice in Europe, the hotel normally takes your passport and that is to identify whether you're likely to be local or not.

"We could do something around that, but there are all sorts of people putting forward suggestions about why they should be omitted from any charge against them."

He said he region's visitor economy is worth more than £6bn annually, supporting more than 55,000 local jobs.

He added the tax could raise up to £17m each year to "be reinvested in the things that make our region stand out".

Liverpool City Region brings together the region's six local councils - Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral.

Rotheram said: "It's not just Liverpool City Council, it's the six leaders of the local authorities that would have the say on how we distribute and spend that funding."