At the end of August 2016, a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council was held in Altai Territory, which considered the issue of introducing a tourist tax in Russia, as well as establishing its size. Such a measure should increase investment inflows into the resort infrastructure. All the details and details of the discussion are posted on the official presidential website, and this article will give a general idea of what the fee is and who it will specifically concern.
What is a tourist tax
At present, there is no official definition of resort collection, but the determining factor for this tax is that it is not established everywhere throughout the country, but is intended only for resort areas. Tourist tax in Russia in 2016 will not be charged yet.
The introduction of such a tax is not new for our country. Such a measure was enshrined in the Law "On resort collection from individuals" from 1991 to 2004. And now they decided to return to it again.
Who will have to pay tourist tax in Russia
Payment of resort tax will fall on the shoulders of citizens who want to spend their holidays in resort towns. This will affect not only the Russians, but also those who come to rest in Russia from abroad.
Resort taxation does not apply to legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who conduct their activities on the territory of resorts. Therefore, various sanatoriums, hotels and rest houses have nothing to fear, only vacationers will pay tourist tax in Russia.
In order for the payment of the fee not to cause unnecessary problems and inconveniences, it was decided not to include it in the price of the ticket, and it will be taken at the place of arrival of the spa, at the time of registration at the entrance or exit.
In what areas will resort fees be introduced
The collection will be introduced gradually, and not immediately in all resort areas. The first will be the four favorite vacationer areas. The pilot project will be launched in Stavropol and Crimea, in Altai and in the Krasnodar Territory.
According to the results of the experiment, it will become clear whether it is worth leaving a tourist tax in Russia. 2016 should show whether it makes sense to introduce it in all areas of public recreation and what size of the collection will be the most optimal. The decision on the need for resort tax will be made by regional authorities.
When will the fee be introduced
Today it is still impossible to say from what period vacationers will have to pay an additional tax to the treasury. But the largest tour operators predict that this measure can be introduced as early as 2017. That is, those who plan their holidays in advance and intend to go to one of the pilot areas next year, need to be prepared to pay an additional resort fee.
Tourist tax in Russia in 2016 is at the stage of preparation, final calculations and the development of a legislative framework.
Tax amount
Probably the most important question that interests citizens is how much the tourist tax in Russia will be. In order not to beat holidaymakers' pocket, the tax amount should be small. According to the Minister of Finance, the amount of the fee should be in the range of 50-100 rubles. But the Ministry of Tourism of Crimea is already voicing the amount of 300 rubles.
The funds raised are planned to be directed to the development of resorts, and therefore, to make their stay more comfortable and interesting. Given that the final word on the introduction of resort fees remains with the regional authorities, most likely, and the size of the tax will directly depend on their decision. But more detailed information should be disclosed by the law on resort gathering, which today is not yet available.
How is it planned to distribute the received funds
Despite the fact that the tourist tax in Russia is only at the planning stage, in world practice this measure has not been new for a long time.
On the example of other countries, we can conclude that the resort fee helps to improve the conditions of spa treatment and more effectively develop the entire infrastructure of the resort.
Theoretically, to accumulate the collected finances, it is planned to organize a certain fund from which funds will be distributed and directed to the things necessary for a particular resort. And according to various estimates for five years, the tax should bring from 2 to 6 billion rubles.
Beneficiaries
Although the amount of the fee should not be substantial, many are concerned about the question of whether the benefits will apply to the payment of the fee and what categories of citizens this will concern.
Definitely, there will be beneficiaries, but it’s impossible to say specifically who will relate to them. But if we draw an analogy with the earlier law of the RSFSR "On resort tax from individuals", then you can count on exemption from payment of the tax:
- those who have arrived to rest in sanatoriums, boarding houses, holiday homes on trips or vouchers, this also includes those who arrived in towns and recreation centers;
- minor citizens before they reach the age of 16;
- disabled persons and persons accompanying them;
- people who find themselves in the resort due to production needs, i.e. business travelers and students;
- persons arriving at the resort not for recreation, but changing their permanent place of residence;
- citizens whose tourist route has been planned in advance by tourist and excursion organizations and enterprises or who travel on route books;
- men and women of retirement age who are already 60 and 55 years old respectively;
- children visiting their parents of pensioners living in the resort area.
Opponents of resort fees
Not everyone supports the introduction of resort fees. Against such a measure are the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice, Rospotrebnadzor and the Ministry of Economic Development, as well as the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Representatives of these five departments believe that the additional tax can significantly increase the cost of rest within the country, which clearly will not speak in its favor.
World practice
There are two types of resort fees:
- Asian It is characterized by the fact that the vacationer, in addition to the amount for staying in a hotel or rest house, pays a fixed amount daily, it can also be some percentage of the total cost of the services provided.
- European. In this case, finances are distributed between three parties: a tour operator, a place of rest (hotel, hotel, sanatorium), a regional treasury.
Although the aim of introducing a resort fee is to develop regions, this does not guarantee a significant improvement in the situation. Therefore, many countries popular among tourists are in no hurry to introduce a tourist tax. Such, for example, are Turkey, India and Bulgaria.