Agreement to raise the tourist tax on cruise ships calling in Barcelona up to 30 euros

BarcelonaThe PSC, Esquerra and Comuns have reached an agreement to increase the tourist tax for cruise ships calling at Barcelona. Through an amendment to the Generalitat's budget accompanying law, presented this Tuesday in Parliament, the three groups will force an increase in the tax to 30 euros for ships that are less than 12 hours in the Catalan capital.

The change lifts the limit of 8 euros that the City Council had until now to increase the portion it collects from the tax, and comes after Jaume Collboni's municipal government had proposed it. In an interview with ARA in May, in fact, the socialist mayor already showed his willingness to "multiply by three the 8 euros maximum that allows us now, up to 24 euros per day".

an interview with ARA in May, in fact, the socialist mayor already showed his willingness to "multiply by three the 8 euros maximum that allows us now, up to 24 euros per day".

The agreement fulfills this demand, to which the 6 euros collected by the Generalitat must be added, which will raise the amount that short-stay cruise passengers will have to pay to 30 euros. "What is wanted is to have a visitor who has an economic impact on the city," explained the Government spokesperson, Sílvia Paneque, who admitted that the agreement stems from the request of the municipal groups.

Awaiting the municipal government's next moves, Collboni's stated objective with the increase in the amount for short-stay cruises is that in the coming years this type of offer does not exist in the city and that only vessels that have the Catalan capital as their home port dock at the port of Barcelona.

The parliamentary spokesperson for Comuns, David Cid, advocated for the understanding at a press conference in Parliament, from where he recalled that the cruise ships that call are those that have "the most impact" in Barcelona, those that "generate the most unease at a neighborhood level" and that, furthermore, "have practically zero return to the city".

"Barcelona is not a souvenir", stated Cid, who urged Collboni's government to accelerate the application of the agreement through fiscal ordinances once the regulatory change is approved on July 2, which is when both the Catalan budgets and the accompanying law will be approved. In a message on X, the Republican leader in the City Council, Elisenda Alamany, also warned that now these additional resources must "improve the lives of the neighbors" of the city. "Let's reclaim our Barcelona", she proclaimed.