Cross-border shoppers won’t be getting the same tax breaks as other visitors to the UK after Northern Ireland was left out of the British government’s new VAT-free shopping scheme.
Under a proposal put forward by UK chancellor Kwasi Karteng on Friday, non-UK visitors to Great Britain will be able to claim VAT refunds on goods they buy in shops, airports and other departure points – if they’re taking it home in their personal baggage.
But because the scheme is limited to England, Scotland and Wales, consumers from the Republic of Ireland can’t simply slip over the border to get 20pc off their shopping.
That means Irish visitors to London will be able to get a new iPhone 14 for just £879.20, but the same device in Belfast’s Victoria Square Apple store will cost £1099. At the higher end of the price spectrum, a top-of-the-range £83,000 Hublot men’s watch will run a discounted £66,400 in Britain.
While the change in the UK VAT regime seems designed to attract wealthy foreign shoppers looking for cut-price luxury goods, it leaves Northern Ireland retailers largely outside of the UK’s bid to revive the British economy, the mini-budget “Growth Plan 2022”.
