Majorca tourism

Mallorca hoteliers reject an increase in tourist tax

Also oppose the suggestion that it becomes a tax for general purposes

The government, say the hoteliers, has failed to get a grip on illegal accommodation. | Archive

Andrew EdePalma15/09/2022 18:03

It will come as no great surprise that the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation, opposed to the tourist tax since its introduction in 2016, is against any increase in the rates of the tax. The federation's vice-president, María José Aguiló, says that proposals from two of the government coalition parties - Més and Podemos - for an increase in 2023 have the sole objective of concealing the "manifest inability of the institutions that govern us" to manage public services and the flows of people. "This has once again been demonstrated this season and is a result of this negligence."

A statement from the hoteliers reads: "Trying to cover up and justify their deficiencies by penalising visitors who stay in regulated accommodation is no solution at all." The federation is critical of the fact that, over the past ten years, "exponential" growth of 85,000 holiday rentals places has been allowed, compared to 29,000 hotel places over the past 21 years. "Almost three times as many in half the number of years."

The hoteliers argue that efforts are not being made to pursue illegal holiday rental supply, which is "totally unquantifiable". And they go on to denounce another aspect of the proposals - one that has come from Podemos. This is that politicians have "acknowledged the intention" of not making the spending of tax revenue subject to certain purposes, "but to instead allocate it as a means of ordinary financing of the region". "At a stroke", this would eliminate participation in the use of the tax for specific purposes.

"Like the environmentalist groups, we have stated many times that there is a need to improve the destination of revenue from the tourist tax." The mechanisms for choosing projects should have greater consensus and participation. "But from what is now being said, it would seem that it is going to be more one-sided than ever."

Balearic tourist tax

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Stan The Man | over 2 years ago

Using the Hotels as Tax Collectors for the increasing greedy increase of this Tourist Tax is completely out of order. How many Countries in the World collect taxation in this way? There must be other ways for Mallorca to "Milk" the Tourists. But their greed could be a death knell for Tourism.

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