Old Bond Street in London could suffer under a tourist tax Alamy
Art dealers have joined the luxury goods and watch industries in condemning the UK government’s “hammer blow” plans to scrap tax-free shopping for tourists from 1 January.
Mark Dodgson, the secretary general of the British Antique Dealers’ Association, warns that dealers who specialise in portable objects such as jewellery, silver and small pictures will be particularly badly hit by the introduction of the new rules at the end of the Brexit period, which will prevent visitors from outside the EU being able to claim VAT refunds on items bought in the UK and taken home. “Smaller businesses will definitely suffer as a result,” Dodgson adds.