Travel World: Tourism tax – How a visitor levy could protect the places we love (2024)

FAQs

What is a tourism levy? ›

The tourism levy, also referred to as TOMSA, is the 1% charge paid by tourists for the use of specific travel and tourism services in South Africa.

Italy - €1 - €7 (86p - £5.99)

Well, generally, the rate of tourist tax varies from city to city, but you can expect to pay anywhere between €1 - €7 (86p - £5.99) per day per person.

Bhutan, for example, has asked tourists to pay a significant sum of money to enter since it opened to international visitors in 1974. The country uses the tax (called the Daily Sustainable Development Fee) in an attempt to preserve the country's natural, undisturbed beauty and to protect traditional Buddhist culture.

The countries charging the highest flat rate tourist tax

Mexico charges the largest flat rate to tourists for the pleasure of entering the country. Every passenger aged 5 and over will need to pay a tourist tax, costing 224 Mexican pesos (around £9.15), before they depart Mexico from Cancún Airport.

A levy is a legal seizure of your property to satisfy a tax debt. Levies are different from liens. A lien is a legal claim against property to secure payment of the tax debt, while a levy actually takes the property to satisfy the tax debt.

The levy is charged at the rate of 2% on the gross sales derived from the sale of accommodation, food, drinks, and all other services offered in scheduled establishments.

What happens if you don't pay tourist tax? You could face a fine of between €50 and €300.

Italy's 7% tax regime for retirees allows holders of a foreign pension the chance to transfer their tax residence to one of the municipalities in the South of Italy. This allows them to opt out of the standard progressive tax rate and pay a tax rate of just 7% on all foreign-sourced income.

Airbnb will automatically apply the tourist tax for eligible stays based on the local rate of where a listing is based. We will automatically collect the amount required for each stay and remit this in full to the local authority on a routine basis, in accordance with local terms.

In Europe and North America, the "tourist tax" more often takes the form of a surcharge added to one's hotel room. This amounts to about 14% of the total stay in states like New York and California.

What is the tourism tax in hotels? ›

A city tax (also called a tourist tax) is a fee that is paid by inbound travelers when they stay in hotels, resorts, B&Bs, hostels, vacation rentals, or other types of accommodation in many European cities.

Use tax, just like sales tax, goes to fund state and local services throughout California.

The long-troubled West African country, Ivory Coast, has the highest income tax rate in the world. People living there are giving away a whopping 60% of their income to the government. That doesn't have to be the case.

United Arab Emirates

The UAE doesn't tax personal income, capital gains, inheritance, gifts or properties. And it has one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the world, at 9% for companies generating more than 375,000 dirhams ($102,000) in annual profits.

Revenue of travel and tourism market in selected countries worldwide 2023. Comparing the ten selected regions regarding the revenue in the travel & tourism market, the United States is leading the ranking (190.39 billion U.S. dollars) and is followed by China with 154.02 billion U.S. dollars.

You can avoid a levy by filing returns on time and paying your taxes when due. If you need more time to file, you can request an extension. If you can't pay what you owe, you should pay as much as you can and work with the IRS to resolve the remaining balance.

A levy may be a fine or tax imposed by a government authority. In this case, levy can also be used as a verb, as in “to levy taxes” which means to impose a tax. A levy is also a legally ordered seizure and sale of property to satisfy a debt or judgment. The term is often used in connection with attachment or lien.

The noun levy refers to a charge, such as a tax, fine, or other fee, that is imposed on something. The verb levy is used to describe the act of imposing or collecting the charge. If you need to raise money, for example, you may decide to levy a fine on your family every time you have to make the coffee in the morning.

A tax rate is the percentage used to determine how much a property taxpayer will pay. A levy represents the total amount of funds a local unit of government may collect on a tax rate. In other words, the levy is a cap on the amount of property tax dollars a local government is allowed by law.