From 2025 onwards, things will change. Any municipality will be able to decide whether or not to impose a tourist tax on its territory. As predicted by Today.it, the government is ready to include this new provision in the next financial package, following the agreement reached with the Italian Municipalities Association (Anci). According to the agreement signed between the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Economy, the tax will also be used to finance urban decoration and security areas.
So what is changing in concrete terms? From the thousand cities that have so far had the right to include the tourist tax paid in hotels (between state capitals and tourist resorts), this possibility will be extended voluntarily to all 7,900 Italian municipalities in a few months. All things considered, it will be a new tax to be paid for many citizens.
Tourism tax: All municipalities will be able to apply this tax from 2025
The amount to be paid can be determined independently, currently ranging from one to ten euros depending on the structure. However, in the price ranges that make the tax proportional to the cost of the accommodation room and payable per person, there will be a threshold limit where the same rules apply to everyone. These rules will be determined in a technical round that will start next week and end within a month when the agreement will be finalized.
The government’s goal is “to make this tax a tax to reimburse the tourism sector, guaranteeing the scope and possibility of allocating it to urban decoration and security, as requested by the Ancı”. According to the deputy economy minister, Maurizio Leo, “the aim is to rationalise the declaration burden undertaken by hoteliers and at the same time allow the Municipalities to exercise control over the financial component. Uniform rules are necessary throughout the national territory”. Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè agrees: “We must make the citizens experience tourism as an opportunity, not as a threat. We are trying to better distribute this tax”.
The decision was therefore appreciated by ANCI, who commented together with the president Roberto Pella: “It was a positive comparison. It is right to give everyone the opportunity by guaranteeing equal income. We share the theme of simplification and finding guarantees. Protecting hoteliers and mayors, as we want, by guaranteeing services for citizens and good manners for tourists: part of these revenues will also be used for security, for example, to make it possible to extend the working hours of the municipal police. On this basis, I am sure that a solution will be found in the coming weeks.”
The figures for the tourism tax and how it works today
In 2023, the tourist tax will bring in a total of 702 million euros. For larger municipalities like Rome, which impose an average tax of 5.5 euros (10 euros for luxury buildings), this means collecting over 100 million euros per year. Until now, the tourist tax required the payment of an amount ranging from 1 to 10 euros. This special tax was re-introduced in 2011 after being abolished twenty years ago. The list of municipalities that have decided to adopt it is long. Cities that want to implement it must approve a specific decision. The most important cities where the tourist tax is currently paid are Milan, Rome, Florence and Venice, to name a few.
The tourist tax is paid by anyone hosted in accommodation facilities owned by the municipality, such as hotels, farmhouses, bed and breakfasts and rooms rented through Airbnb. Those who are required to pay are those hosted in accommodation facilities of one of the municipalities that approved the decision introducing the tax.
“We must absolutely avoid increases”
“We are open to discussion on the reform of the tourist tax. However, we do not agree with the current structure of the proposed change: calculation on pre-determined price bands would cause the tax to skyrocket to unsustainable levels and However, increases should definitely be avoided: these increases would have a heavy impact on tourist demand, especially on domestic demand, which is extremely sensitive to price pressures at this stage,” he said in a note to trade associations by Minister Daniela Santanchè before the meeting.
“Tax reform can and should be discussed widely and without obstacles. But without losing sight of the fundamental issue: it must be fair and must be included in a strategic vision for the relaunch of tourism and the increase of tourist flows”, says its president, Vittorio Messina. “But the calculation according to pre-determined intervals does not guarantee the preservation of the competitiveness of the Italian accommodation system”. According to Messina, “the prudent solution would be to calculate the tourist tax as a percentage of the actual price at which the room is sold, setting a ceiling of a maximum of 5% of the amount and in any case not exceeding this amount. Revising the tax in this sense would also benefit the controls of the administrations and tax authorities”, he said.
The national associations representing the majority of tourism and hospitality businesses, Federalberghi, Confindustria Alberghi and Assohotel, are also following the debate on tourism tax reform closely. “Two days ago – according to the three associations – in a meeting with the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, assurances were formulated that no increase would be made, that obligations would be simplified and that tax rates would be increased. It will be allocated to tourism, but the report of the meeting between the two ministries and ANCI does not seem to have gone in this direction,” he said.
“Federalberghi, Confindustria Alberghi and Assohotel reiterate their opposition to the adoption of mechanisms that support the increase of the tax burden on families and businesses and allow the application of the tourism tax also in non-tourist municipalities, and call for the improvement of the aspects of the current legislation that do not work or work badly. First of all: ensuring that the tax is kept within a reasonable maximum limit, not exceeding the current level, defining a simple mechanism; facilitating communication with the client and the application for the manager, minimizing formal requirements; adopting a framework regulation to ensure uniformity throughout the national territory; guaranteeing transparency in the use of the revenue that should be given back to tourism”.
“We appreciated the willingness of the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Finance to engage in dialogue on these and other issues related to the full review of the tax – we ensure the continuation of the three organizations. We believe that the process will continue in the same way. Giving sufficient importance to the demands of tourist accommodation businesses and the needs of tourists”.
Source: Today IT
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
