Tourist board fears tourist tax will fuel fiscal fraud

MP'S who voted against the Partido Popular's motion to reject the tourist tax in Parliament on Tuesday were yesterday accused by the president of the Majorcan Tourist Board, Miguel Vicens, of creating a situation in the tourist industry where the money generated in the illegal accommodation sector will be far superior to the extra funds generated by the controversial tourist tax. Vicens, on behalf of the Tourist Board's executives, has written to each of the 50 members of the Balearic parliament, calling on the government to withdraw the tourist tax project from the political agenda. Vicens says that the project should be withdrawn “if only out of fairness for the hoteliers who will be the real passive victims” of the tax. “I cannot understand how a tax which will only be applicable to some of our visitors can be justified,” Vicens said yesterday. The chief executive of the Tourist Board includes the Association of Travel Agents, representatives for the charter airlines and a number of other professional tourist bodies also find it hard to believe that the government honestly believes that “hoteliers or whoever” will properly co-operate with the tax scheme. As the project stands the tourist tax will only be paid by hotel guests, from overseas or resident, and collected by hotel receptionists although the hotel sector is adamantly opposed to the idea.