No tourist tax if the people do not want it, says government

The tourist tax came under heavy fire again yesterday and this time it was the President of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations, the equivalent of the CBI in Britain, José María Cuevas, who slammed the proposed levy, saying it would be an “unquestionable disaster.” What effect Cuevas's attack in Palma will have, remains to be seen, but yesterday afternoon the Balearic Minister for Tax, Joan Mesquida, announced “if the people don't want the tourist tax, it will not be introduced.” Mesquida said that over the next few weeks, the government will resume contact with all sections of the Balearic community in, order to gain an accurate idea of whether or not the people are in favour of the controversial tax, which has developed into a public relations nightmare for the Balearic left-wing coalition government. Addressing the same floor as Cuevas at a business and economic summit in Palma, Mesquida urged captains of business, the unions and social organisations against drawing hasty conclusions about the tax as the final draft of the proposal, including all the detail and the government's intentions, has yet to be drawn up. “Some people are speaking out against the tax without knowing what the government's aim is,” the Minister said. “We've got to start analysing the proposal, looking into whether or not the Balearics needs to make large investments in the environment, and we've got to gather as much information as possible from the public on how we should be protecting and managing the environment in order to maintain our quality of life,” he told the business forum.