Land and housing taxes for hotels and theme parks might be cut or waived to help support the industry.
The Cabinet has given the Tourism Bureau proposals to help ease house and land levies for qualified recreational and lodging facilities to help them weather the decline in the number of Chinese tourists and an increasingly crowded field.
“Tax burdens for travel and tourism operators have soared in the past few years after local governments steeply raised land and house values” to help rein in property speculation, a tourism official said, adding that downward adjustments are warranted in light of unfavorable cyclical movements.
The planned tax cuts could benefit up to 1,000 hotel and theme park operators after the Ministry of Transportation and Communications draws up a detailed list of criteria and local administrators lend their support, the official said.
The government has sought to uphold tourism revenue, which has taken a hit with retail sales and has weighed on private consumption, as the slump in Chinese tourist numbers deepens this year.
Taipei-based hotels launched after July 2014 have to bear an extra burden because of the city government’s “luxury home tax,” which is imposed on expensive properties in popular locations.
The Taipei Marriott Hotel (台北萬豪酒店) has complained about heavy tax burdens and pressed for exclusionary measures to spare it from the campaign against property speculation.
Tourism authorities have outlined potential beneficiaries including theme park operators, such as the Leofoo Village Theme Park (六福村) and Janfusun Fancy World (劍湖山世界), which earned above-average ratings in the previous year, media reports said.
Star-graded hotels might also qualify for the tax relief and hotels with conference capacity of 1,000 guests or more, media reports said.
Hotels judged by central or local authorities as qualified might also be able to apply and applicants would need to meet only one criteria, the reports said.
The ministry would allow local governments to set the tax cuts, as the cuts would affect local government revenue.
Hotel operators in Taipei have asked the city government to waive all land taxes during construction and soft opening, and cut housing taxes by 50 percent for five years after opening.
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