Self-Catering Group Presses Perth and Kinross on Tourist Tax Plan

The Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers has told Perth and Kinross Council that its draft plan for a visitor levy leaves too many basic questions unanswered, including who pays, how much, and how the charge would actually be collected from short-term rental guests. The council has not yet set a rate or a start date, but the association wants those details settled, and tested against the realities of running a self-catering business, before any scheme moves forward.

What the council has floated so far

Perth and Kinross is one of several Scottish local authorities working through the process set out in the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2019, which lets councils charge a percentage on overnight accommodation once they complete a consultation and formal assessment. The City of Edinburgh Council has already gone furthest, confirming a 5% charge on the cost of a stay, capped at five nights, due to take effect in July 2026. Perth and Kinross officials have indicated they intend to bring forward their own proposal but have not committed to a specific percentage or implementation date.

Where the self-caterers' group wants answers

The association's submission pushes on the practical mechanics that hotel-focused levy discussions tend to skip over. It wants to know how the charge would apply to bookings made directly with an owner versus those made through Airbnb, Booking.com or Vrbo, whether small single-unit operators face the same collection and remittance duties as larger portfolios, and what exemptions, if any, would apply to longer stays or off-season lets. It also wants clarity on who absorbs the administrative cost of registering, calculating and remitting the levy, a burden that falls disproportionately on operators without in-house finance staff.

Why the Perth and Kinross case sets a marker

Scotland's other councils are watching how this plays out, because Edinburgh's scheme, while confirmed, is the only one currently locked in. A second authority moving forward with a materially different rate, threshold or collection method would leave operators managing multiple, inconsistent systems across a single small country. For self-catering businesses operating in more than one Scottish local authority area, that inconsistency is the practical cost, regardless of what any single council eventually charges.

No date has been set for Perth and Kinross to publish a final proposal or bring it to a council vote. Until it does, operators in the area are left budgeting against a charge whose size and mechanics remain undecided.