Tourism Industry Resists Proposed Hotel Tax Increase

A proposal that could make overnight stays in Belize more expensive is once again stirring concern within the tourism industry. Talks have resurfaced about raising the hotel tax from nine to twelve and a half percent, but BTIA President Efren Perez is standing firmly against it. He says government can generate additional revenue by cutting waste and closing expenditure leaks instead of increasing taxes.

 

Efren Perez, President, BTIA

“The implication that it has not only for a hotelier, because raising the tax for the hotelier will certainly make us less competitive in markets that people are reducing prices right now. And so, if we have an increase, our prices go up. That would mean less travelers come in. That would mean the housekeeper that is cleaning the room might not be able to have her job and look after her family. The farmers that sells vegetables to the hoteliers might not be able to do that. So, the trickling effect of that is much greater in that sense. What we should be looking at is trying to look at those areas that can be strengthened in order for government to access more funding. We certainly agree that government needs more funds to operate. The easiest way is to come to tourism and saying let’s tax tourism. And we have seen it over and over, there are a lot of loopholes in the government system, especially when it comes to expenditure. This year in the news, it has hit so many different areas.”

 

Perez says that if government moves ahead with the hotel-tax increase, BTIA will demand that two percent go toward a climate adaptation fund.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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