Star comment: Grubby tax could be own goal

Yes, a “being there” tax is being lined up for visitors who go to Wales. It will be a tax for just going to the principality, to be slapped on hotel bills.

As the details of the measure, announced in the draft budget of the Welsh Labour Government, are not yet worked out, nobody knows how much of an extra cash hit it will be on tourists. It looks like it will be a small charge per night for tourists staying in accommodation.

It is quite possible that if you did not know about it, you would not notice it at all. Nor is the idea of a tourist tax new, as a similar measure is nowadays imposed on people going on holiday to Ibiza and Majorca.

The Welsh government has seemingly been seduced by the idea that this is easy money, a stealth tax which will raise cash to be spent on public services and infrastructure.

But it is playing with fire. Hospitality and political leaders are worried that it could devastate the tourism economy of Wales, and be a spectacular own goal which would hand an advantage to hotels in England.

It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that people who would otherwise stay in accommodation somewhere in Mid Wales would choose instead to base themselves in Shrewsbury and then travel into Mid Wales as it would work out cheaper.

There is an objection in principle to the idea. Spain is a different country. Wales is not. It is part of the United Kingdom, and this tax would be a tax on people from one part of the United Kingdom visiting another part of the United Kingdom. It smacks of a tax on internal free movement.

Most of all there is the psychological factor. Tourists will happily pay big bills and splash out freely during their holidays, but give them the impression that they are being ripped off, even for a small amount, and they become indignant and resentful.

We won’t let that happen again, they say.

As for that welcome to Wales, it will not be seen as a Welsh welcome with open arms, but a welcome in which the Welsh government is reaching with one arm for your pocket to extract money from English suckers.

Wales is such a lovely country with magnificent landscapes and lovely people. Why risk poisoning it all with this grubby little tax?