PAN Madeira met with Pedro Calado, in his capacity as President of AMRAM, to address the issue of the implementation of the tourist tax.
The purpose of the meeting is to understand the intention of the different municipalities regarding the implementation of this tax, considering that after the elections, several expressed interest in creating an individualised, and municipal tax. The president of the Association of Municipalities said that they have been in negotiations with the presidents of the respective municipalities in the region for the fees to be their responsibility, that the same value be applied in all of them, with the same criteria, and that the respective funds are channeled to the appropriate purposes.
PAN argues that there should be a single tourist tax applied to all municipalities, in which Madeirans are exempt from this payment, and that the funds revert to the preservation of nature and recovery of leisure spaces.
“The tourist tax is a PAN based initiative, in the sense that, similar to what is done in other areas of the country, there is a revenue earmarked for specific purposes, which consist of the preservation of leisure spaces and green areas in the region. It makes sense to us that a single rate should be applied so that there are no disparities between municipalities that are so close and that all Madeirans are exempt.
“Our goal,” stated PAN deputy, Mónica Freitas, is that the tax would not be municipal as we consider that one municipality may have more hotel units than another, with fewer amenities, attractions, and leisure areas, which creates inequalities. For example, a tourist who stays overnight in the municipality of Santa Cruz, ends up spending the day in more attractive municipalities from a tourist point of view such as Santana, São Vicente, and Porto Moniz, leaving the revenue in one municipality and the investment of levadas and spaces having to be made in another.”
The party left its recommendations and its point of view on this matter, considering that it is one of the points within the scope of the parliamentary incidence agreement with the PSD and that its main purpose is to have more investment in the environment, taking advantage of the vast tourist load existing in Madeira.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weeklycom
