Jeweller to the stars: Tourist tax is killing trade in the capital

THE boss of celebrity jeweller David Morris has said the hated tourist tax has ‘killed’ international business in London.

The high-end retailer, which counts Beyonce, Adele and Keira Knightley among a star-studded list of clientele, has joined hundreds of businesses in support of the Mail’s campaign to reinstate VAT-free shopping.

Jeremy Morris, the company’s managing director, said spending in the capital had ‘kind of dried up’, adding that the David Morris boutique in Dubai is doing ‘much better’ than his New Bond Street store in London.

In an open letter to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, organised by hotelier Sir Rocco Forte and signed by household names such as Harrods, Burberry and Marks & Spencer, the unpopular policy was branded ‘puzzling’. And warnings from firms keep coming as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces mounting pressure to scrap the tax.

Customers are shunning London and flocking to Paris where they can get a tax refund on purchases of pricey necklaces and earrings, Mr Morris said. ‘My business is not developing in London anywhere at the rate it should have been, it is still very sluggish.

‘Until this thing is reversed, I don’t think we are going to see any uptick on it. It’s basically pretty much killed the retail export business in London, people just prefer not to shop in London.’

This month, Minister Paul Scully admitted scrapping the tax could bring in ‘hundreds of millions pounds of lost revenue’. But Mr Sunak reportedly told MPs that his in-laws ‘don’t come here to shop’, in response to calls for a U-turn.