Antch in catch-22 situation over tourist tax climbdown

Balearic President, accused over the weekend by Environment Minister Jaume Matas of trying to use the present situation to try and “wash his hands” of the tourist tax, yesterday denied that he is going to withdraw the hugely unpopular levy. Even union leaders yesterday, while urging Francesc Antich to push ahead with the tax, admitted that the tourist tax has very few supporters. Antich, who last week said that if the tourist industry starts to suffer as a result of the current problems, his government would look for alternatives to the tax, said yesterday that “there are no indications that the local tourist industry is having any specific problems or that it's in crisis.” However, Antich admitted that he has put the tax's possible withdrawal on “the table” during talks with the tourist sector, in particular hoteliers. “But we've as yet made no decision, the Balearic government is open to all suggestions,” he said. But, if Antich was not back tracking over the tourist tax, political opponents fail to understand why he is still open to suggestions.