Congress || As the aftershocks of the proposed 2015 budget continue, Economy Minister Pires de Lima has vowed there will be no more hidden tourism taxes.
Celebration, nonetheless, was mooted as the 26th Congress of Portuguese Hoteliers Associations meeting in Braga on Monday learnt that no matter how much they howl, the 23% IVA (VAT) rating on restaurants is here to stay.
“I may not have had the power to lower IVA on restaurants (…) but I have sufficient power, in conjunction with my colleagues of the government, to avoid more taxes and little taxes on the tourism and catering sectors,” Pires de Lima told his audience.
Reiterating the government’s mantra that tourism is “a national champion” in terms of global income, Pires de Lima revealed that every hour the sector brings in a million euros.
He maintained that if opposition Socialists win next year’s elections, a new tax would be levied on the number of tourism sleepovers nationally.
Expresso reveals that the first idea for a tax of this kind came from the current Ministry of the Environment, as a measure for the 2015 budget. It ended up being vetoed, writes the paper.
