Madrid gets blame for the tourist tax

The creator of the so called “white book” on autonomous government financing, professor Carlos Monasterio, yesterday blamed central government for the introduction of new regional taxes, such as the Balearics's proposed tourist tax. Carlos Monasterio accused central government of “encouraging” autonomous governments to look to alternative ways of raising extra funds with new taxes, and then appealing against them in the Constitutional Tribunal in Madrid, as central government is doing with the tourist tax. Carlos Monasterio said that in most cases, the public do not object to paying new taxes, providing that in return they receive a better quality of services. The aim of the tourist tax is to raise extra funding to cover the costs of rejuvenating the region's tourist resorts and improve the level of environmental protection and management in the Balearics. The tourist tax is currently suspended pending the ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal in Madrid. Central government believes the tax is unconstitutional.