PANAJI:
Till now, hotels charging Rs 1,000 per room per day tarrif or less were not under the ambit of luxury tax. But, in the new budget, there is no luxury tax till Rs 750 per room per day limit. From now on, there will be a luxury tax of 6% for per day per room tarrifs exceeding Rs 750 till Rs 3,000. It also begs a question whether hotels charging as low as Rs 750 per day tarrif are really providing luxury experience to tourists.
Similarly, the value-added-tax (VAT) on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) has been increased from 12.5% to 18%.
The tax increase on tourism industry seems ironic as Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) had requested the CM not to increase taxation on sector as it is already highly taxed.
Parsekar also increased the entry fees for casinos from Rs 700 per person to Rs 1,000 per person. The budget has also provided for marginal increase in excise duty for Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and beer, which will badly affect because a lot of tourists from neighbouring states visit Goa just because alcohol is cheaper here.
