SLHTA Tourism Matters Newsletter (16th December 2019)

SLHTA Tax Committee Analyses Impact of Head Tax

The SLHTA’s Head Tax Committee convened an emergency meeting to discuss feedback from the Ministry of Finance that the proposed Head Tax which it has been negotiating with the Government for almost two years now, is set to be implemented in April 2020. A Cabinet decision outlining the terms of the Head Tax was analyzed for its impact on operations. Hotels representing over 1000 rooms met at the Secretariat to register their concerns about the negative impact of the model of the tax being proposed by Government.

Chaired by the organization’s Immediate Past President Sanovnik Destang, the Committee also reviewed past presentations to Government which have explained various alternative permutations of the tax which is designed to raise funds for the marketing and administrative operations of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority. The SLHTA’s proposal have all attempted to ensure that the Prime Minister’s assurance that the Head Tax should be revenue neutral and have minimal negative impact on hotel operations, were honored…READ MORE