ALMR will continue to oppose Tower Hamlets Borough Council late night levy
Reacting to the news that Tower Hamlets Borough Council will consult again on a late night levy, the ALMR has stated it will continue to oppose the measure and similar measures across the UK.
The ALMR had successfully challenged the Council’s previous attempt to introduce a levy, highlighting flaws in the original consultation document.
ALMR Chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “Our previous efforts in combating the introduction of the levy have managed to buy time for the sector, and the Council will now be forced to go through the entire process of consulting once again.
“This gives the ALMR, venues in the area and the sector as a whole, time to engage with the Council and strongly oppose this additional tax on businesses.
“Increasing costs for employers will undermine investment, risk jobs and increase the possibility that venues may be forced to close. Businesses will be at risk because the Council is determined to introduce a levy that has already been deemed ineffective by the House of Lords Committee that scrutinised it.
“We will be watching the Council closely and urging them not to heap costs on businesses and threaten the innovative, exciting and incredibly important nightlife that currently exists in Tower Hamlets.
“The ALMR liaised with the London Mayor this week and urged him to act to ensure that late night levies are not introduced in the capital. We will continue to oppose these measures wherever they are considered in any part of the UK and will urge local authorities’ to work with businesses, not against them, to find solutions to any issues they may have.”