The tourism industry has spoken out against the announced hike in the tourist tax in Sofia. This is clear from the general position of the Bulgarian Hotel Association, the National Tourism Board, the Branch Association of Restaurateurs - Sofia, the regional structure of the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association, the Bulgarian Association of Restaurants and the Association of Restaurants in Bulgaria.
They note that the measure has been discussed with the business. Consensus on the way it is introduced, however, has not been reached. During the discussion, an agreement was reached with the Metropolitan Municipality and OP Tourism - that it be accompanied by changes in the Law on Local Taxes and Fees to ensure that the collected funds will go purposefully to the development of tourism and the advertising of the destination Sofia.
The branch notes that during a briefing the Deputy Mayor for European Policies, International Activities and Tourism Nikola Barbutov, the municipal councilors from PP-DB-SS Plamena Terziradeva and Andrey Zografski and the Director of OP Tourism Anton Penev gave an assurance, that the funds from the tax will only go to tourism funds. However, the tourism industry is suspicious of promises that do not meet the regulatory framework.
In their common position, the five organizations state that the suggestions that the tax increase was coordinated with business are manipulative, because during the meetings held, the representatives of the municipal administration committed themselves to the following actions on their part - a proposal for a strategy plan , budget, specific activities and legal framework for the development of the Sofia destination for 2025.
The business indicates that the issue of undertaking real activities to increase collection from existing sites was also discussed. At the moment, the actual collection of the tax is very low and is realized only by the hotels. More than half of the apartments that are rented out to foreign /70%/ and local /30%/ tourists are not registered under the Tourism Act and do not pay the tax due to the Metropolitan Municipality.
The tourist industry points out that the CO foresees higher revenues with a smaller increase than that of the individual fees, and in practice the municipality admits that the collection of the tax will fall.
The business insists on a real plan for the development and spending of the funds so that it has a clear motivation to support such a decision. So far, the only action commented on by the Sofia Municipality is aimed at increasing the salaries of OP Tourism employees involved in the administrative process.