Catalan Tourist Tax 'unlikely to happen'

 

The Generalitat of Catalonia's plan to introduce a tax on tourists visiting the region looks highly unlikely to be ever put into practice, due to a wave of criticism from a number of Business Associations.

Earlier today the CEOE Association of Spanish employers, led by Juan Rosell, added their voice to those rejecting the levy and issued a statement, calling the measure "unnecessary."

In the statement the CEOE spoke of how they "shared the arguments of the hospitality industry in opposing the establishment of a tourism tax in Catalonia". This tax is included in the draft budget for 2012 and accompanying law and provides for the payment of one to three euros, depending on the category of accommodation for overnight stays by tourists. With this new source of revenue, the government hopes to generate a total of 100 Million Euros next year alone.

The CEOE noted that the hotel sector has seen "positive results" in Q4 of 2011, and believes that the introduction of such a tax will greatly effect the sustainability and competitiveness of the tourism industry as a whole, which they note is a significant provider of employment in Spain, and key to the economic recovery of the country.

The Generalitat justifies the tax due to the current lack of resources for the promotion of tourism in the region and the cost to public funds to host events such as the Grand Prix, and the recent measure taken to establish Barcelona as the mobile phone capital of the world.

Furthermore, the Minister of Economy, Andreu Mas-Colell, spoke of the impact of aid to airlines such as Ryanair to maintain operations to the secondary airports of Girona and Reus.