Yahoo News The Canary Island town set to be first to impose tourist tax
A resort town in the Canary Islands is set to be the first to launch a so-called ‘tourist tax’, according to reports. Mogan is located in the southern part of Gran Canaria and is the second largest tourist municipality on the island.
It's known for its beautiful scenery and its harbour. The town is a popular spot with holidaymakers looking to do whale-watching and sailing.
But the local council says it could launch a version of a tourist tax, Canarian Weekly reports. It will see tourists being charged for public services, the revenue of which will fund “the maintenance and improvement of tourist areas”, according to Mayor Oanlia Bueno.
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It means the tax would be different to a traditional ‘tourist tax’ which applies to overnight stays. That type of tax would come under the jurisdiction of the Canary Islands Government. By launching a tax on the provision of public services, the council claims it would be legally able to impose this tax.
It’s reported the council intends to introduce the tax in 2025. The council said in a statement: "The City Council will not apply a tax for staying overnight in tourist accommodation. However, it can approve a tax for the public services under its jurisdiction, and the model it has opted for is to consider anyone staying in these establishments, i.e. hotels, aparthotels, campsites, holiday homes, etc, as a taxpayer.”
The council added that it would probably be paid by tourists each day to the owners or managers of where they are staying, and this will then be collected by the council. The money will be used for services which are directly affected by tourism, such as gardening and cleaning, which residents don’t necessarily benefit from.
The news comes following anti-tourism protests in the Canary Islands held in April, sparked by concerns that mass-tourism is damaging local infrastructure and the environment. One suggestion to counterbalance the negative impact of mass-tourism was to introduce a tourist tax.
