St Paul's Bay council approves eco-tax motion on tourism proposed by Sandra Gauci

A motion proposed by Sandra Gauci, ADPD councillor, that calls for a formal request towards the government to pass on the eco-tax collected from tourists staying in accomodations within the locality of St Paul's Bay directly to the local council, has been approved by the council on Thursday.

Gauci said that there is no doubt that St Paul's Bay is a locality that feels the impact of mass tourism acutely, irrespective of its large capacity. She said that ADPD insists that there is an urgent need to support local councils in their efforts to safeguard the quality of life in their locality, due to the limited resouces available when it comes to maintenance, waste collection, or necessary repairs.  

She insisted that the government can start by transferring the tourist bed tax directly to the local councils, instead of giving it back to the tourism sector itself. The government should also seek to remove the €5 cap and consider increasing the rate of 50 cents per day to a more accurate rate that supports the actual impacts of tourism on our localities, she said. 

However, Labour councillors have voted against this motion, and have not engaged in further discussions during official local council meetings. 

The St Paul's Bay Local Council is currently awaiting a reply by the government, regarding their formal request, which in their view will dictate "whether or not it respects local democracy". 

"The government wants to retain tight control and dictate how Local Councils should operate, instead of strengthening local democracy", they added.