SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 13 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands, Yaiza Castilla, has indicated this Tuesday in a parliamentary appearance that the debate on the eco-tax on tourism should take place in the archipelago, although she has considered that “no” is the time to implant it.
This was stated by Castilla after being questioned by the deputy of the Canarian Nationalist Group, José Miguel Barragán, about the announcement to retake the creation of a green tax for the tourism sector. In this sense, the Regional Minister of Tourism has advocated carrying out a “calm debate” in this regard, since it is an issue that includes the pact of the Government of the Canary Islands.
“We continue to defend that it is a debate that it is true that the Canary Islands should have and another thing is if it is the moment”, he pointed out to continue that he “does not” believe that this is the “key moment” to implement this rate, while He has added that “no” has been since they arrived at the regional Executive because they have had to face unforeseen situations.
To this he has also added the “new wave of uncertainties” that is expected, since he has clarified that although this summer has presented “positive numbers”, it will be on the return of the holidays where “the turning point” will be in terms of the “adjustments” of expenses that European citizens may consider due to, among other issues, energy prices that “seem not to reach the ceiling”.
Among the arguments that Castilla sustains to defend that this is not the time to implement it is, in addition to the rise in the price of energy, mortgage rates or “runaway” inflation, so “it is not unreasonable to think that those people that by having a lower budget, they decide to spend less at destination”, in such a way that he understands that “this is not the time either” because they want to increase spending at destination.
Even so, he has considered that the Canary Islands “will not” have a “bad” winter season but things “will not be so easy” because in the coming months the demand will have to be “fighted tooth and nail”, hence has stated that the Canary Islands are “not” interested in a debate that will reach tourists.
On the other hand, Castilla has assured that “it does not” understand the determination that the Canary Islands continually look at itself in the “mirror” of other areas such as Catalonia and the Balearic Islands because “it is not” the same. “We kill ourselves to defend the territorial differences of the Canary Islands but when we are here we put everything else as if it were the same as us,” he pointed out to add that we must focus on the consequences.
In relation to this, the Canarian Minister of Tourism wanted to refute that the Canary Islands are not the same as the Balearic Islands, giving some data such as the fact that the Balearic Islands are territorially smaller than the Canary Islands, having 5,040 square kilometers compared to the 7,492 of the Canary archipelago.
To which he added that the Balearic Islands have more tourist places, 467,000, while the Canary Islands reach 429,292, as well as that the first concentrates the majority of tourists in six months, while the second throughout the year, among other figures.
For Castilla, tourism will be where “the solution” of the problems will come from, since it is a sector that collects 35 percent of the taxes in the archipelago, while he has defended that it would have to have “more public resources” .
For his part, José Miguel Barragán has indicated that he has requested this appearance also because Sí Podemos Canarias has proposed to the regional Executive -with whom he governs- a legislative text to study it and by “no” answering the Government understands that “it has no study “.
THE MIXED GROUP AND PP AGAINST
The Mixed Group and the PP, in the mouth of Ricardo Fernández de la Puente and Carlos Ester, respectively, have been against the tourist tax in the Canary Islands.
Fernández de la Puente has reproached Sí Podemos that the tourism sector in the archipelago collects 2,600 million taxes and the purple formation wants to “get even more money” from tourism, since it also understands that it is a tax “to collect more ” and then decide what to dedicate it to.
The PP deputy, for his part, considers that with this rate “businessmen are condemned” again to add that “it is never a good time” to raise taxes, while he has reproached the regional government that what they want is ” continue squeezing the people who come and those who live here”.
Likewise, the deputy of the Gomeran Socialist Association (ASG) Ramón Ramos Chinea has understood that this “is the moment to implement the eco-tax” in view of the current inflationary situation, since he considers that “many jobs are put at risk”, something that has stated should be avoided.
He has also added that when a tourist arrives in the Canary Islands, “he pays some taxes, he pays the IGIC, which 58 percent goes to local entities”, for which he has pointed out that with this “they are already contributing to the conservation” of the archipelago .
However, he has clarified that another debate is that companies that have tourist activity in the Canary Islands, pay taxes on the islands.
“IT’S NEVER THE TIME”
For his part, the deputy of Sí Podemos Canarias Francisco Déniz has pointed out that “if it were for one, it is never the time” to invite the “focus” in the tourism sector on sustainability and not on attracting more people. He has also questioned the benefits that the tourist company has from the resources of the islands to ask why citizens have to pay for the “damage generated by tourism.”
In this sense, the deputy of the Group of Nueva Canarias (NC) Luis Campos has agreed with Déniz that for “some at the moment it is never because they do not believe” in the rate, something that has defended that NC will continue betting on it but He has admitted that before the “clouds that are predicted”, he understands that it is not the time to implement it.
Finally, from the Socialist Group Rosa Bella Cabrera has lamented that the PP insists on “misinterpreting” the words of the president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, to point out that the PSOE advocated in Lanzarote for putting the ecotax but the successive crises that have given since 2019 have led to “not” facing a debate, that “the time will come” when it has to be done.
THE FIRST TOURIST TAX PROPOSAL
The appearance has also served to dispute between the Canarian Nationalist Group and the Socialist who was the first to propose the implementation of a tourist tax on the island of Lanzarote, which has led the deputy and president of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Dolores Corujo, to request the floor at the end of the appearance to ensure that this debate began in 2000, which was led by the late Enrique Pérez Parrilla.
Although, José Miguel Barragán has asked him to check it “calmly” and take it to Parliament because “one thing is the entire cargo cost policy” and another is an initiative proposal to admit that they “do not” lead “nothing “.
