The absence of tax-free shopping puts overseas visitors off spending money in the UK and “is already having a tangible impact on some of our internationally renowned British heritage brands and everyone associated with them. These are businesses who represent the very best of British, in some cases for hundreds of years, and we should be doing all we can to protect and celebrate them in the U.K.”

“To actively encourage tourists to buy British products outside of the U.K., rather than on home ground, is a disservice to our iconic brands, big and small. We need to be able to compete on an even playing field.

“With British brands speaking up about the impact the ‘tourist tax’ is having on their businesses, we would urge the Prime Minister and Treasury to instruct a formal review of the current tax-free policy to understand the full effects it is having on our economy.”

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