BRITS face paying hundreds of pounds more for staycations under plans to hand mayors powers to impose potentially unlimited tourist taxes.
Local leaders are set to be allowed to slap an “overnight visitor levy” on families staying in hotels, B&Bs and holiday lets.
And reports last night suggested there will be no national cap on how high they can set the charge.
It means holidaymakers could be forced to cough up extra cash for every night of their trip – potentially piling £100 or more onto the cost of a family break.
The Sun has been campaigning to Stop The Holiday Tax, warning it risks pricing hard-working families out of precious staycations.
We have urged the Government to ditch the plans amid fears they could hammer seaside towns and encourage Brits to holiday abroad instead.
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Business travellers would also be caught by the charge.
The Telegraph reported that hospitality bosses were stunned after being briefed that England would follow the Scottish model, where there is technically no upper limit on the levy.
Industry chiefs had reportedly expected safeguards on how much local leaders could charge.
Communities Secretary Angela Rayner will meet with mayors in No 10 North before further details of the policy are announced later today.
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The chief executive on one leading hospitality firm said: “There will be a jobs bloodbath at a time when they’re trying to get young people into work.”
Edinburgh introduced a five per cent visitor levy this summer but it only applies to the first five nights of a stay.
UK Hospitality has previously warned that copying Edinburgh across England could amount to a £1.6billion tax raid and add £100 to a family holiday.
It has also warned of tens of thousands of job losses in a sector already struggling with soaring costs.
More than 100,000 hospitality jobs have disappeared since Labour came to power.
Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith blasted an “unlimited tourist tax”, saying: “An unlimited tourist tax would be hugely limiting for the chances of the young people who might otherwise be employed in tourism and hospitality.
“Propping up dodgy town hall finances on the back of even higher youth unemployment would be utterly wrong.”
Lord Houchen, the Tees Valley Mayor, also said: “The overnight visitor levy is just a back door created by the Labour Government to tax businesses even more than they already do. This will add cost to do business, cost jobs and make it more expensive for families to holiday in the UK.”
A government source said: “We have always been clear that while central government will set the framework for this power, it will be up to local leaders and local voters to decide what is right for their area.”