Tourism minister blames bed tax critics for creating ‘confusion’

Tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis has hit out at critics for filing a warrant of prohibitory injunction to block the bed tax that was supposed to have come into force last week.

The Federation of English Language Teaching of Malta (FELTOM), the Federated Association of Travel and Tourism Agents (FATTA), the Professional Diving Schools Association (PDSA), the Malta Association of Hotel Executives (MAHE), Joseph Attard, Divesystems WS Ltd and Toro Company Ltd filed the application for the injunction together with the Chamber of Commerce in the First Hall of the Civil Court last Wednesday.

However, Zammit Lewis in a statement blamed the Chamber and the other associations for “creating confusion” within the tourism industry, warning that their court action has already led to the loss of €140,000 from potential collected tax.

“That money would have been used to beautify local and touristic infrastructure.”

Zammit Lewis, together with finance minister Edward Scicluna and environment minister Jose Herrera, have now requested the court to “urgently” commence court proceedings and take a decision on 31 June.

“The government awaits the court’s decision over this obstacle imposed by parties whose sole interest is to block this eco-contribution tax,” he said. “The eco-contribution tax was announced in the last Budget and since then the government has worked hard to implement it while protecting the interests of everyone involved in the tourism sector.

“The money will have to be forked out by tourists and not operators, and the tax itself is capped at €5, the lowest in Europe.”