BUSINESS

Boodles accuses Sunak of own goal over scrapping VAT-free shopping

Isabella Fish
The Times
Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia Spencer as the “faces” of Boodles, the upmarket jewellery brand. Boodles has called the decision to scrap VAT-free shopping “extremely unhelpful”
Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia Spencer as the “faces” of Boodles, the upmarket jewellery brand. Boodles has called the decision to scrap VAT-free shopping “extremely unhelpful”
BOODLES
Isabella Fish
The Times

The boss of Boodles, the luxury jewellery designer and retailer, has accused Rishi Sunak of scoring a “spectacular own goal” by scrapping VAT-free shopping for foreign tourists.

Michael Wainwright, the managing director whose family have owned the business since 1880, said that the government’s decision to remove the 20 per cent levy had proven “extremely unhelpful” for businesses as international shoppers were shunning the UK in favour of Milan and Paris.

“It’s not just the spending on luxury, it’s the staying in hotels and dining out in restaurants that is also affected,” he said.

Ministers withdrew VAT-free shopping for non-EU international visitors in January 2021. The scheme was originally implemented to comply with EU rules and it was closed at the end of the Brexit