Pilar Martínez
Malaga
Friday, 22 November 2024, 17:38
The letters from Malaga’s mayor Francisco de la Torre to Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez and central government relating to a proposed tourist tax have stirred up controversy in the tourism industry.
The third of these letters was to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, asking for a legal framework in which to introduce a tax of two or three euros per stay and per person against holiday homes and hotels. The proceeds from this tax would be used to help families who, due to their economic or social situation, cannot afford housing in the area as well as promoting the area as a tourist destination. Despite the fuss, De la Torre is confident that his petition “is the best way to shield and protect tourism from criticism and protests about the housing problem. If I were a property owner I would be asking for this tax to avoid this negative effect.”
The Andalusian tourist housing association (AVVA-Pro) supports the proposal as long as “the creation of balanced and egalitarian fiscal measures for the entire tourist sector with the aim of guaranteeing equity between the different types of accommodation and maximising the benefits for the city.” This group, with whom the mayor held a meeting a few days ago to gather support for this initiative, says that “we would not object to the revenue generated being used as a tool to improve the city, to promote quality of life, improve public services, social rental programmes… thus promoting a balanced coexistence between tourism and citizens.” It stated that this proposal “seeks not only to guarantee the sustainability of the sector, but also to generate a positive impact on the city of Malaga”, but stressed that “the creation of any tax, fee or fiscal measure should be fair and transparent, ensuring that the resources collected are reinvested in projects that benefit the whole of society equally, without establishing arbitrary distinctions that may harm the competitiveness of some players.”
For their part, hoteliers insist that they no longer know how to say no to a tourist tax so that all the leaders understand it. “We have said it actively and passively, but it seems that it is not enough. We are against any tourist tax with or without some end purpose because, among other things, the current system prevents the money collected from going to a purpose linked to tourism. We are seeing this with the taxes in the Balearic Islands and Catalonia,” explained Javier Hernández, vice-president of Aehcos (the Costa del Sol’s association of hotel employers and owners).
This sector is surprised at the missives sent by De la Torre as an agreement has been in place since last May that this was an issue that needed further study. In May there was a meeting chaired by the Junta’s tourism minister, Arturo Bernal, attended by the president of the CEA confederation of employers of Andalucía Javier González de Lara, and the head of the Andalusian federation of municipalities and provinces (FAMP) and mayor of Cordoba José María Bellido. The meeting outcome was to activate a ‘Sustainability Observatory’ to tackle, using suitable data and studies, the strategies with which to respond to debates such as the setting of this tax or the management and design of a development model that avoids problems of coexistence between tourists and residents. “It is in this framework where it was agreed to take this type of proposal. We understand that tourist towns need funding, but until this observatory is defined, no tax can be introduced,” said Hernández, warning that “it is not possible to propose a tax on tourists when there are daytrippers who visit the city and who also consume our resources.”
Aehcos is concerned that De la Torre has always said that he would not impose a tourist tax without industry consensus, an element that the mayor also includes in these letters. “And we have said no and we continue to say no,” stresses Hernández, who reminds us that the housing problem could easily be solved by city hall speeding up the processing of land development and promoting the construction of subsidised housing. As for the purpose of the tax, he reminds us that “it is not a No”, but that the priorities are not only development, but also solving problems of mobility, beaches and water resources.
For his part, the mayor considers that the reform of the Local Finance Law that he is demanding from PM Sánchez is “feasible” and claims that “it has no cost for the Cabinet and I believe that it could be supported unanimously by Congress. What party would find it wrong to establish a legal framework so that municipalities that consider it can set a tax for stays in tourist homes to help pay the rent of families without resources? I see very clearly that the government could do this.”
De la Torre is convinced that this tourist tax measure is a well-rounded solution that will quell public protest and strengthen tourism as a key sector for the local economy. The mayor also clarifies that this tax would not be carried out without the consensus of the key players and that the priority is tourist accommodation. “Hotels are not on the agenda for the moment,” he declares, although he does include them in the letter sent to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, which he also enclosed in the letter sent to the Prime Minister.
Uncertainty in the different governing bodies
The proposal made by Malaga’s mayor to PM Sánchez has also caused some confusion among the heads of the different governing bodies. Arturo Bernal as regional minister for tourism is under the impression that Andalucía has a sustainability observatory in place, in which all the key players are represented, to establish a diagnosis of the situation for the tourism industry, the financing of tourist towns and whether or not to establish any taxes on tourism, and that this is the group, the place from which such proposals should emanate. He acknowledged the financing problems for municipalities with a large influx of tourists and the need to modify local financing and affirmed that “if the mayor believes that the tourist tax is the solution, the only way is to change the local finance law so that this tax can be established for the purpose he is proposing. It would be important to first establish a diagnosis with experts to identify the problem and look for the best alternative to solve it. The rest is just killing flies with cannons [a similar analogy would be ‘hitting everyone over the head with a blunt club’].”
The Turismo Costa del Sol tourism board, chaired by Francisco Salado, insisted that it had already stated its position on this matter, which basically revolved around the fact that “the [central] government had neglected its functions because it has the obligation to legally protect the town halls, which feel alone and unprotected.” However, it refused to evaluate each of the letters sent by mayor De la Torre or any of the actions taken by him.
Turning to PSOE’s spokesperson in Malaga city hall, Dani Pérez, he claimed that the mayor’s request is unfounded, pointing out that the issue can be addressed at regional, not national, level and at full council meetings they have urged him on several occasions to request the tax imposition from the Junta de Andalucía. Pérez affirms that “De la Torre’s strategy is clear: to wriggle out of the issue when he does nothing to combat the tourist housing that is proliferating in our city in an excessive manner. Faced with his incapacity in this respect, he is trying to divert the debate by pulling a letter from out of his sleeve that makes no sense whatsoever.” The PSOE spokesperson urged him to “get down to work, firstly by putting a real moratorium on tourist housing and eliminating licences and, secondly, by urging Juanma Moreno to do what he should, as is done in the Balearic Islands and Catalonia, with a tourist tax.” Pérez goes further, warning the mayor that “this is not the time to talk nonsense and write empty letters, it is time to do something to prevent the serious issue of a shortage of affordable housing that has Malaga as the main problem area in the whole country. And the only person responsible for this is De la Torre.”
This post was originally published on here
