The long-running debate among the three Valencian legislative bodies and the recent negotiations among PSPV, Compromís, and Unides Podem will reach a stop this Thursday as the Valencian Courts vote to end the tourist tax by approving a consell ordinance that repeals the measure. The Consell, supported by the PP and Vox, is set to finalize the repeal of the tourist tax law, a rule that never took effect due to the moratorium that had paused its implementation. Miguel Barrachina, the PP’s ombudsman in Les Corts, framed this decree as the closing chapter of the fiscal pressure Botànic had warned would hurt the economy. Joaquín Alés, Vox’s deputy spokesman, announced his group’s backing for the repeal, calling the decision untimely in the face of rising inflation.
seven years
The action planned for Thursday will effectively bury a tax that took seven years to gain approval and was debated in nearly every Botànic budget cycle. Eventually, last year, PSPV-PSOE, Compromís, and Unides Podem, the latter of which no longer holds a seat, gave their approval to the measure, drawing applause from the left while the former president Ximo Puig remained quiet. His successor, Carlos Mazón, pushed for the abolition of the tax, which still had not come into force. Mazón even announced the development at London’s World Travel Market, where the Valencian Community was labeled a tax-free destination.
Consell abolishes tourism tax from Wednesday with industry consensus
This announcement provided the hook for PSPV-PSOE’s deputy spokesperson, María José Salvador, to criticize the Government, describing the promotion as sad, ridiculous, and obscene and accusing them of politicizing the industry. Aitana Mas of Compromís criticized the PP’s boast of abolishing something that had not yet taken effect, joking that no one would be traveling to Paris or Vienna in response. She pointed out that many cities around the world implement similar taxes without suffering negative effects, noting that Venice, Barcelona, and the Balearic Islands have experienced no major problems as a result.
Decree Law
Mazón and Tourism Minister Nuria Montes formalized the decree abolishing the tourist tax on the 10th. As planned, it will be approved by the Cortes before the end of November. Mazón asserted that the day marks the removal of impediments while others still hold them. In his remarks, he referenced PSOE’s alliance with Junts and ERC, emphasizing a distinction between actions taken here and those elsewhere. The measure received broad backing from the Valencian tourism sector. Representatives from the sector attending the Palau de la Generalitat included Fede Fuster of Hosbec, Miguel Ángel Sotillos of Fevitur, and Manuel Espinar from Conhostur, who described the upcoming repeal as the completion of a process supported by Botànic.