Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Party submitted a new draft law to the parliament, which proposes regulations on the tax system. The draft legislation includes the introduction of an accommodation tax.
The new tax will come into force in April next year.
According to the new tax, 5-star hotels and resorts will pay 18 Turkish lira (TL) per person per night, 4-star hotels and resorts will pay 12 TL, 3-star hotels will pay 9 TL, 2-star hotels, pensions, motels, apart-hotels, and camps will pay 6 TL, boutique hotels and special licensed accommodation facilities will pay 18 TL.
The Hotel Association of Turkey TÜROB Chairman Müberra Eresin said, “As of October 2019, Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) is established and as part of the law, 7.5 per thousand shares were taken over from hotels’ turnover for funding the agency. Immediately thereafter, the new tax will force the tourism facilities, which have recently started to revive.
As the sector, we were not strong enough to handle this load. When both funds and taxes overlap, they will reach a level that will harm the sector,”.
Ms. Eresin added that not only the sector couldn’t reach the 2012’s revenue and sales figures in 2019, also hoteliers having difficulty at the loan repayments. Moreover, the room prices are still around 60 percent lower than in 2012.
“While taxes on tourism are being reduced all over the world, we face new loads of taxes. This will create a risk of reducing not only foreign guests but also local guests in hotels. The sector should not be interrupted while it is just started to get out of the crisis,” added Ms. Eresin.
Vice-Chairman of Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TUROFED) and Chairman of Aegean Touristic Hotels and Investors Associations – ETIK, Mehmet İşler claimed that the sector wanted to be punished with “accommodation tax“. “Mr. Isler asked, “Is the tourism sector punished for success? “. “If this tax is not necessarily to be taken, it should be relative, to be fixed means that the tax comes out of the hotelier’s pocket,” he added.
“To introduce new taxes to the sector means to harm and destroy it. The state should pay attention to losses and fugitives, rather than going on to successful, prudent traders who pay their taxes,” Isler added.
