Council can use my calculator to work out tourist tax - Fiona Duff

I’m not really one to understand economics on a large scale. I mean I can try to make sure that my bank balance doesn’t go into overdraft and I know the price of a pint of milk.

Fiona Duff

However, when I read about the size of Scotland’s deficit, which I think is in the billions, I wonder who on earth is in charge of the cheque book in Holyrood.

It’s certainly someone who doesn’t understand what the minus sign in front of all those zeros mean.

And then there is Edinburgh Council – not billions, but certainly quite a lot of millions.

A decent win on the Euromillions might wipe it out, but not sure if there is a highly paid staff member in charge of working out the algorithms on choosing the numbers to make that happen.

The point, like most things, is that it is the little things that make a difference.

For example, I know that if I turn the heating down a couple of degrees my energy bill decreases.

If my husband makes a loaf of bread it costs pennies rather than the pounds that a nice loaf from the artisan bakery, and if I shop around I can save money on the grocery bill.

So, and forgive me if I have mentioned this before (my memory isn’t what it used to be, whatever that was) I can’t understand why we don’t have a tourist tax in this capital city.

You may remember that I wrote my last column while swanning about in Sicily.

Over there, wherever we stayed there was an extra few euros a night charge for the privilege of laying our head on a pillow.

We all know how many tourists come to Edinburgh, and not just in August for the festivals.

A small tax doesn’t mean much to someone staying here – whether it be the Balmoral or an Airbnb – but cumulatively it could certainly make a huge difference to the city’s finances.

So if anyone at CEC wants to borrow a calculator, you know where to find me.