Palermo, no to the increase in tourist tax and Tari (local taxes)

In Palermo, there is an outcry against the possible aunento in 2026 of the tourist tax and the Tari. The revenue from the tourist tax has grown exponentially in recent years: according to Jfc's findings, in 2022 the municipality collected EUR 3.6 million, which became EUR 4.8 million in 2023, while last year it reached almost EUR 8.5 million.

At the forefront is the local Confesercenti together with all the tourism employers' associations, which sign a joint document calling for a stop to an increase that is running at double 'without any consultation with the social partners. It is not possible to burden the businesses and the tourism sector with the failed management of Rap, leaving the evaders undisturbed and retaliating, as every year at this time, on the tourist tax for budgetary reasons,' explains Francesca Costa, president of Confesercenti Palermo. 'It is as if we were dealing with a cross-eyed interlocutor: on the one hand we discuss deseasonalisation and lengthening the length of the tourist season, while on the other hand for budgetary reasons policies are being implemented that go in exactly the opposite direction. We therefore hope for an intervention on the part of the administration to reshape the positions taken'.

From next year, the tourist tax, a tax of purpose, in the capital city for a one-star hotel will increase from 1 euro to 3 per night; from 1.5 to 3.5 euro in two-star hotels, for three-star hotels the tax will increase from 3 to 4 euro, for four-star hotels it will increase from 4 to 4.50 euro, while five-star or luxury hotels will remain at 5 euro. Doubling, from 2 to 4 euro, also for b&b and short-stay accommodation. These are the estimates arriving from the municipal council, which simultaneously readjusts the Tari (city tax) rates. "As far as the tourist tax is concerned, we have already explained the risks of an excessive increase in the tax, especially if it is not announced in time," continues Francesca Costa. "On the other hand, the increase in the Tari will also weigh heavily on businesses. Suffice it to say that a café of 50 square metres will find itself paying about 100 euro more per year in waste tax'. A hotel with a restaurant of about 350 square metres will find itself paying almost 250 euro more per year, seeing the cost rise to 3,000 euro, a hotel of 250 square metres without a restaurant will come to pay 1,800 euro, about 150 euro more.

Hence the decision of the tourism employers' associations to sign a joint document asking the Councillor for Productive Activities Alessandro Anello, the president of the Council Giulio Tantillo, all the party leaders present at Palazzo delle Aquile and the presidents of the Budget, Productive Activities and Participated Companies Commissions to be convened and listened to "in order to identify shared measures and actions that can avert the initiation of legal recourse and choices that would penalise businesses and tourists to the detriment of the competitiveness of the local tourism offer". This is the request by Confesercenti signed by the presidents or provincial managers of Assohotel, Sicindustria (Tourism and Nautical section), Aigo-Confesercenti, Aigab, Confare-Confcommercio, Extralberga, Federalberghi, Confimprese and the Fare executive council. "The choices made by the Council, which mark a generalised increase in the tourist tax of well over 94% compared to the previous ones," reads the document, "in no way take into account the work carried out in respect of dialectic and consultation, on which the undersigned are relying to grasp a sense of discontinuity with respect to previous Councils. A past that has constantly seen the administration resort to the tourist tax to cope with emergencies and current expenditure in contravention of the provisions of the relevant implementing regulation'.

For its part, Federalberghi Palermo has delivered a document with a series of requests to the city councillor for Tourism Alessandro Anello and, in the meantime, is asking for the tax to be postponed until January 2026, to ensure adequate planning by businesses in a still fragile economic context. "These are requests put forward by the entire hospitality sector, in view of the fact that we have been excluded from any possible negotiations," urges Rosa Di Stefano, president of Federalberghi Palermo. "This is why a permanent round table is needed with the category representatives aimed at planning the 2025 revenue, not before knowing the detailed accounts for the years 2023 and 2024, to verify the destination of the sums collected and the effective use of resources for tourism purposes. Federalberghi is thus waiting for a meeting. 'We were happy to have contributed, in previous years, to the drafting of the regulation that introduced the tax,' the president concludes, 'with a view to dialogue between the public and private sectors, to consolidate effective and sustainable tourism policies for the city. But this time the dialogue did not take place, and we regret this".