Taxing times

Jason MoorePalma29/01/2019 14:25

Local hoteliers are calling for the tourist tax to be scrapped....not a bad idea but unfortunately the tourist tax cash has already been spent and even the money which has not even been raised yet has been earmarked for spending. An estimated 100 million euros flows into government coffers through the tourist tax, a significant amount. This money has naturally helped government finances and if the tax was scrapped it would leave a nasty black hole in the budget.

Now, one of the reasons why the tourist tax was introduced in the first place was because of the lack of money forthcoming from the central administration in Madrid. This has been a historic problem for the Balearics, the islands have never got a good deal from Madrid.

It was thought that with the change in government with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Balearic leader Francina Armengol being from the same party (the Spanish Socialist Party) the islands would get a better deal. No such luck...in fact funding for the Balearics has been cut even further!

So while I believe the tourist tax is not a great idea I can see that the money is needed which brings me back to my theory; I have always thought that probably more money would be raised through a voluntary contribution rather than an actual tax. Imagine if British tourists were invited to donate a few of their unspent euro coins at Palma airport as they leave to improve and maintain the islands. I am sure that a fair number would contribute.