Following her visit to the Oxfordshire designer outlet she pledged to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists from outside the European Union.
She said the decision to scrap the scheme in 2021 left the UK less competitive than European destinations.
Kemi Badenoch was a Treasury minister when the tax relief was abolished by Boris Johnson’s government, and publicly supported it.
At the time, Badenoch said it was “a costly relief which does not benefit the whole of GB equally”.
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Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch during her visit to the designer outlet (Image: Jacob King)
At the time, the Treasury argued that extending the scheme to EU visitors would be too costly and that abolishing it would save hundreds of millions of pounds for the Exchequer.
In a statement on social media announcing the plans she said: “Britain should be the place where the world comes to shop.
“Instead we’re losing millions of potential customers to European capitals.
“Yesterday at Bicester Village, I spoke to the the iconic retailers, designers and manufacturers being let down by a tax policy that chases customers away.
“A Conservative government will restore tax-free shopping – boosting British business and our tourism industry, helping to create jobs and grow the economy.”
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch (left) with shadow culture secretary Rebecca Paul (right) during her visit to the designer outlet shopping centre Bicester Village (Image: Jacob King)
Mrs Badenoch said research estimates that restoring tax-free shopping could attract up to 2.35 million additional visitors and generate £4.1 billion in additional spending.
The party also said that if evidence confirms the scheme “pays its way”, this would be extended to visitors from the EU by the end of the next Parliament.
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