Britain’s top retailers, including Harrods and Fortnum & Mason, have written to the chancellor asking him to scrap the government’s proposal to digitise tax-free shopping.
The letter, signed by some 600 retailers in the West End of London and every retail lobby group, states that the industry has “lost confidence” in the Treasury’s reform of tax-free shopping, which “risks a further loss of international competitiveness post-Brexit”.
Britain’s tax-free shopping scheme creates £2.5bn of retail sales each year. The system allows visitors from certain countries to claim back VAT paid on selected items when they leave.
