The Government defends a "moderate" increase in the ecotax to Vox: "It would not affect competitiveness"

PalmThe Minister of Tourism, Jaume Bauzá, defended on Tuesday a "moderate" increase in the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS, known as the ecotax), similar to the one proposed by the Government last March: Raise it between 1.5 and 3 euros in high season and lower it in winterAt that time, he was unable to push the initiative through due to a lack of support from Vox, which opposes tax increases. "It wouldn't affect competitiveness at all," the regional minister insisted. Bauzá made these remarks in response to a question from Vox's deputy spokesperson, Sergio Rodríguez, about whether the regional government had studied the impact of this tax increase. Bauzá admitted that it hadn't, but insisted that "no extensive studies are needed" to know that this increase would be harmless. Rodríguez, for his part, responded that the government's sole objective with this proposal was to raise more revenue, not to discourage lower-income tourists, as Bauzá argued. In this regard, he urged the regional government to "stop bleeding" tourists and residents dry with taxes and instead focus on offerings that attract "higher-quality" tourists. For example, in his view: golf courses and beach clubs.

Although the PSIB proposed to the PP opening negotiations to jointly approve the increase in the ITS (Tax on Land Transport), the PP has so far refused. In this regard, the Minister of Housing, José Luis Mateo, did not clarify, in response to questions from the Socialists, whether he will support the bill to regulate the entry of vehicles into Mallorca submitted by the PSIB, even though it is a proposal inspired by the draft that the Executive presented last June and was unable to validate.