Northern IrelandA special rate of VAT for tourism services in Northern Ireland could help attract more foreign visitors and potentially create 3,300 additional jobs, a leading trade body has claimed.
Pubs of Ulster, which represents the retail licensed trade in the North, is campaigning for a reduction in the current rate of VAT to bring it into line with the Republic’s.
The standard rate of VAT in the UK is 20 per cent while the Irish Government cut VAT rates for the hospitality sector to 9 per cent from 13.5 per cent.
Colin Neill, chief executive of Pubs of Ulster, said a VAT cut would not only help the organisation’s members – bars, cafe bars, restaurants and hotels – but also the Northern Ireland economy as a whole.