Specific and general taxation of tourism activities. Evidence from Spain

This article mainly discusses whether the introduction or increase of tourism taxation should be addressed through specific or general indirect taxation. With this aim, the paper describes the concept of tourism taxes and presents the several reasons that back their use. The paper also offers some n...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTourism management (1982) Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 381 - 392
Main Authors Gago, Alberto, Labandeira, Xavier, Picos, Fidel, Rodríguez, Miguel
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 2009
Subjects
Distortions
Spain
Sustainability
Taxes
Tourism
Tourism
Distortions
Taxes
Sustainability
Spain
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Summary:This article mainly discusses whether the introduction or increase of tourism taxation should be addressed through specific or general indirect taxation. With this aim, the paper describes the concept of tourism taxes and presents the several reasons that back their use. The paper also offers some numerical exercises comparing the effects of specific and general tourism taxation in Spain, a developed country with a sizeable tourism industry. The article suggests that both specific and general taxes on tourism would be able to yield improvements in terms of revenues and internalization of costs without hampering the economy. Yet, in comparative terms, general indirect taxes may be a more feasible, equitable and neutral way to obtain tax revenues from tourism activities.
ISSN:0261-5177
1879-3193
DOI:10.1016/j.tourman.2008.08.004