Russia (bbabo.net), - Resort tax in 2022 will be collected in the Krasnodar Territory, Altai and Stavropol Territory, and in the Kuban its size will increase several times. The total amount of the collection is not large, but the regions do not intend to abandon it, and after the completion of the experiment, the collection will be transferred to a permanent basis, experts say.
The resort tax was introduced on May 1, 2018 for several regions. The experiment is valid until December 31, 2022. The collection began in the Krasnodar, Altai and Stavropol Territories in the territories where the experiment is being conducted. In Crimea, the moratorium is still in effect until May 1, 2022. Regions can set the amount of the fee on their own. All three regions participating in the resort tax experiment have extended the practice to 2022. Moreover, in the Altai Territory the fee will grow from 30 to 50 rubles per person per day, in the Krasnodar Territory - from 10 to 30 rubles, separately in the city of Sochi - up to 50 rubles, and in the Stavropol Territory they already collect 50 rubles per person per day , indicate in the Association of Tour Operators of Russia.
A noticeable increase in the size of the collection in the Kuban attracted the attention of the tourist industry. As the Acting Minister of the Ministry of Resorts, Tourism and the Olympic Heritage of the region Maria Zolotukhina explained, revenues to the regional budget need to be increased, which is associated with an increase in the resort tax. According to the governor of the Krasnodar Territory, Veniamin Kondratyev, it will not be possible to create the proper level of recreation for the holiday season only at the expense of the regional budget.
The amount of the fee really plays a big role. In the Stavropol Territory, where the entire experiment was charged at 50 rubles per person per day, by August of this year, more than 737 million rubles had been collected, the Ministry of Tourism and Health Resorts of the Territory said earlier. At the same time, about 4 million tourists have visited the region over the years. More than 50 million guests have visited the Krasnodar Territory over the same period, according to the Ministry of Resorts, Tourism and Olympic Heritage, the collection amounted to only 396 million rubles.
The increase in the resort tax is not an easy question, notes Natalya Kosmina, chairman of the board of the Association "Russian Union of Travel Industry - South". “Considering that in 2019 only half of Sochi's tourists paid the resort fee, a similar situation may develop in 2022. In addition, this can hit organized accommodation facilities and give a loophole to the“ gray ”tourist business,” she says.
Even after the increase in the resort fee, these funds will not be enough to repair the infrastructure, but for municipalities the fee may be important
The funds of the resort tax will not be enough for the development of capital infrastructure, they can only repair benches, install trash cans, for municipalities this money can play a role, says Yuri Barzykin, Chairman of the Committee of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia on entrepreneurship in the field of tourism, resort, recreational and hotel activities ... Nevertheless, after the experiment is completed, the resort tax will most likely be introduced on an ongoing basis and extended to other regions, says Galina Dekhtyar, professor of the Department of Management and Service of the RANEPA.
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