This means that a large party staying in a villa for two weeks, will be paying ~ 400 euros in tax!
They really don't want us ,do they ?

Ouch!

We'd probably fall into the holiday home category if I'm reading this right as we tend to go for private rental. €4 per day x 21..... €84.

Cruise passengers pop into say Majorca for a few hours & €2 charge! Seems a little greedy to me considering what the passengers will already spend. Is the paperwork involved worth it? They must think so.

I don't really agree with the higher the accommodation rating the more you pay either. Fairer if a flat fee for all.

I don't agree with you there re a flat tax rate Glynis because it could disproportionately hit families - though it's not clear whether it will be charged for children as well or just adults. But if it will be levied on children too, I don't think it's fair that the average family of 2 adults and 2 kids staying in budget self-catering accommodation could end up paying twice as much as a couple staying in a ritzy 5 star hotel. They are already hit for higher prices by the TOs for having to travel in the school holidays without being hit for exactly the same level of tax as those who can afford to spend much more on their holidays in the first place.

Similarly with the cruise passengers - is €2 euros that big a deal - especially since not all cruise passengers do spend that much money when ashore? I've met people who've returned to the ship rather than even buy a cup coffee ashore! The likelihood is that it will be collected via it being added to the cruise lines billing for mooring fees etc rather than someone from the islands administrtion standing at the bottom of the gangway collecting €2 from each disembarking passenger so it won't necessarily cost that much to collect and administer.

I do have some sympathy with taxes like this - for example, the Edinburgh festival has just ended and, yes, it does bring in an awful lot of money in for businesses in the city and anybody renting out accommodation for visitors etc. But it is the year round council and income taxpaying residents who have to pick up the bill for all the increased street cleaning needed, the extra security measures put on the streets this year etc. And it is taxpayers throughout Scotland who see little economic benefit from the Festival who, for example, pick up the bill for the increased policing needed. I see nothing wrong with those who benefit most, either as businesses or visitors, picking up more of the bill for the costs associated with having large numbers of tourists arriving.

"though it's not clear whether it will be charged for children as well or just adults."

"Las bonificaciones en temporada baja se mantendrán para incentivar la desestacionalización, así como para los menores de 16 años, con el fin de fomentar el turismo familiar, ha detallado Barceló."

The bonuses in the low season will be maintained to encourage the deseasonalisation , as well as for children under 16 years, in order to promote family tourism, Barceló has detailed.

At the present rate the tax is reduced in low season, but I've read somewhere ( I can't find it now) that they were going to extend the high season months.

I was having a discussion with Dave only last week about where I'm going to celebrate my 70th birthday and we were thinking about a city break...Palma was in the shortlist.
I won't be giving them a penny of my money and if the truth beknown if it wasn't for the terrorist attacks in Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt, they'd be begging for tourists because when the above countries were being heavily promoted by the TO's, Spanish tourism suffered badly.

Hotel prices have increased by 10% and doubling the eco-tax rate which is also subject to IVA (vat) being added on top of the rate, it might just be a step too far.
They quite openly say that the increase is to attract a different calibre of tourists, presumably those who stay in luxury hotels and who consider paying 4 euros per person a day "peanuts".

The left wing socialist collation government of the Balearic Islands have some crazy ideas.

Sanji x

SMa said "I don't agree with you there re a flat tax rate Glynis because it could disproportionately hit families - though it's not clear whether it will be charged for children as well or just adults. But if it will be levied on children too, I don't think it's fair that the average family of 2 adults and 2 kids staying in budget self-catering accommodation could end up paying twice as much as a couple staying in a ritzy 5 star hotel. They are already hit for higher prices by the TOs for having to travel in the school holidays without being hit for exactly the same level of tax as those who can afford to spend much more on their holidays in the first place."

I wasn't particularly thinking of families, even though families do stay in 4 & 5 star accommodation also.

I still don't think it fair to charge more just because your staying in higher rated accommodation.

SMa said "Similarly with the cruise passengers - is €2 euros that big a deal - especially since not all cruise passengers do spend that much money when ashore? I've met people who've returned to the ship rather than even buy a cup coffee ashore! The likelihood is that it will be collected via it being added to the cruise lines billing for mooring fees etc rather than someone from the islands administrtion standing at the bottom of the gangway collecting €2 from each disembarking passenger so it won't necessarily cost that much to collect and administer."

Ah now I wouldn't know how much they spend as never been on a cruise but if they begrudge buying a coffee........ Of course I never implied that a little man rattling a tin box would be stood at the bottom of the gangway. But it does seem petty to charge people who are on the Island a few hours €2. Will they be charged if they remain on the ship? Or is it only if their toes touch terra firma? Probably added on to the price of the cruise of course but .....The devil in me hope it's itemized 😁

In principle an eco tax is a fair idea if you want to protect resources and improve infrastructure to help sustainability , the only problem is how to administer it in deciding who should pay and how much , and like most taxes as long as someone else is paying its ok ! Also politicians have a wonderful way of spending other people's money and if they want more they just increase it , sometimes for their grandiose plans to be able to say on my watch look what I did , totally forgetting it was other people's money .
This Eco tax was introduced only 2 years ago , it's increasing next year , how often will rises happen and who's determining and checking where the money is spent ? Do they keep increasing til they find the sweet point at which they get the maximum they can extract before losing custom .
The principle sounds fine to me , but the motive feels questionable .

Eco tax????
I think of ecological issues such as protecting the beaches, monuments, wild life, water supplies, sewage removal and management, pollution, etc, etc.
Things like improving and expanding the purifiers so that nothing is poured into the sea and all that purified water being re-used in irrigation and other uses before it ends up in the sea.....You get my drift.?
Nobody seems to know where last year's money has gone, there's no public accounts or visible improvements.

We should stop calling it an eco-tax and call it what it is... A tax levied on tourists which they've now admitted that the revenue collected will be used for 'other things'.

https://majorcadailybulletin.com/news/local/2017/04/13/47560/government-admits-tourist-tax-not-environmental.html

There is doubt that it's even legal, hence why they haven't passed the task of collecting the tax onto the airports and ports, instead it's extra work passed onto hotel/ apartment receptionists to collect it, for the same wages.

It's not enough that they owe any prosperity they have had to the tourist trade and after years of taking the cash and not spending it on projects to have sustainable tourism, now they want to fleece the tourists again with this tax.
It's not as though an explosion of tourists has happened overnight, they've seen the tourist numbers increasing over many years, and during the autumn and winter months delegates from the tourist departments have travelled around the world promoting the islands.

It's not just foreign tourists who are going to be paying......
If you're a born and bred Spaniard living in Mallorca or mainland Spain and go to the Balearic Islands for your holiday...you pay the tourist tax.!
If you are a seasonal worker staying in a tourist accommodation (hotel or apartment), you also have to pay. They (government) wanted to just hit the foreign tourists, but the EU said no, it must apply to everyone, including Spanish citizens.

Spain has a national programme called ' IMSERSO'..... It has two objectives.
It offers holidays to senior citizens and disabled people at a reduced rate during the low season.
By offering these holidays and sending OAP'S on holiday during the low season, it keeps the hotels open and people in employment, thereby not claiming seasonal unemployment benefits, so the programme is self funding.

It's been suggested to use some of the tourist tax revenue to set up a mini system for the Balearic Islands for their OAP'S and disabled to go island hopping.

The almond trees in Mallorca have a disease, the EU have told them to contain it by destroying the infected trees and eradicating all vegetation within a 100 metre radius and grow nothing for 5 years......it's also infecting other carrier species.... olive trees, fruit trees and lavender
The EU will not pay any compensation until a containment plan has been tried and in place for 2 years.

So......Some of the tourist tax will be allocated to the farmers because tourists like taking photos of the almond trees when they are in blossom.

Sanji x

Click here to help you work out how much tax you will pay.

Tax is effective from May 1st.

I believe there is also VAT on top of that, which is not mentioned.

Yes, there is IVA (vat) to be added.
The central government have got in on the act and want a piece of the pie @ 10%

Sanji x