The owners of the Ambasador Hotel in Bucharest have filed a preliminary administrative complaint against a decision by the Capital’s City Hall, which established a new tax exclusively for hoteliers, called the „special tourism promotion tax of Bucharest,” amounting to 1% of the revenue obtained from accommodation receipts. Hotel representatives claim that the tax violates the law and discriminates against hotels.
The complaint was sent to the General Council of the Municipality of Bucharest, CGMB, to be discussed on the agenda of the next meeting.
At the same time, the Ambasador Hotel notified the Prefecture of the Municipality of Bucharest and requested it to analyze the decision, exercise its authority to control its legality, and take the necessary steps for the partial annulment of the decision.
Iustina Dragne, the lawyer for the Ambasador company, stated that the regulation for the special tax should have been approved first with the consent of the natural and legal persons benefiting from the respective services, which is not the case here. According to the lawyer, the regulation for establishing the tax was approved only after the tax was instituted.
Another object of the complaint is that the tourism promotion tax for Bucharest was established exclusively for hoteliers, which violates the provisions of the Romanian Constitution, according to the lawyer.
„Establishing the promotion tax exclusively for hoteliers, for accommodation activities, is unconstitutional and violates the principle of equality, given that all professionals conducting commercial activities in the Capital benefit from the promotion of Bucharest, including restaurants, bars, airports, taxi companies, and travel agencies,” stated Iustina Dragne.
Another reason for dissatisfaction is that Bucharest hoteliers are not represented by the Association for the Promotion and Development of Tourism in Bucharest.
Nicolae Istrate, a shareholder at Ambasador, acknowledges that tourism cannot exist without the allocation of a promotion fund and believes that the new Government should allocate approximately EUR 100 million for this purpose over the next 5 years.
Although the hotel tax is eliminated in the new Fiscal Code, the association in charge of promoting the Capital requested that Bucharest hotels pay a tax of 1% of the first night’s accommodation rate for each client, provided that the money is collected in a separate account and used exclusively for the city’s tourism promotion, as is already the case with Mamaia or Oradea.
Source: Profit
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Ambasador Hotel contesting the tourism promotion tax?
The hotel claims the tax is discriminatory and unconstitutional because it is applied only to hoteliers, while other businesses like restaurants and taxi companies also benefit from tourism.
What is the specific amount of the contested tax?
The tax is set at 1% of the total revenue generated from accommodation receipts in Bucharest.
What legal actions have been taken by the hotel representatives?
They have filed a preliminary administrative complaint with the General Council and requested the Bucharest Prefecture to exercise its legality control to partially annul the decision.