As the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) plans to introduce a 3% hotel tax to increase revenue, the Thai Hotels Association (THA) has urged the authority to begin with a lower rate of 0.5-1% and provide additional support to help tourism operators affected by the Middle East conflict.Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt earlier proposed amendments to the BMA Act to allow the city to levy new local taxes, including a 3% tax on hotel and accommodation room charges.
The authority said the BMA currently lacks the legal authority to impose a hotel tax, which could generate 1 billion baht in annual revenue, while provincial administrative organisations already have such authority.
THA president Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun said hotel operators in Bangkok are not opposed to a new levy, but the proposed rate would place too much of a burden on businesses during the tourism slowdown.
The 1997 Provincial Administrative Organization Act allows provincial administrative organisations to collect a hotel maintenance fee of up to 3% of room rental charges from guests.
Mr Thienprasit said that tax rates vary across the provinces, with most authorities not collecting the maximum rate of 3%.
