Businesses asked to cancel the minimum tourist tax threshold of 100 rubles

The calculation of tourist tax at the minimum rate of 100 rubles should be abolished, according to a letter from Opora Rossii to Yulia Shvakova, head of the secretariat of the State Council's commission for "Efficient and Competitive Economy" (Izvestia has an excerpt).

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On January 1, 2025, a tourist tax began to operate in more than one municipality in Russia. Local authorities themselves decide whether to set it and in what amount, but for 2025 at the federal level established that the lower threshold is 100 rubles, and the upper limit - 1%.

With the introduction of the tourist tax, hostels, the cost of accommodation in which does not exceed 1 thousand rubles, began to include the amount of the fee in the cost of daily accommodation. The guests of this type of hotels - workers, business travelers and students - began to look for cheaper temporary accommodation - for example, to illegally rent apartments or apartments from local residents, as follows from the letter of "Opora Rossii" (Support of Russia. - ed.).

Owners of inexpensive hostels are especially afraid of losing their clients, unlike owners of expensive hotels, whose visitors are willing to pay for comfort, emphasized Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global. According to her, each region needs a separate approach in this case.

The rise in the price of hostels in general accelerates inflation in Russia, which already in March exceeded 10% (year-on-year), added independent expert Andrei Barkhota. But the main thing is that the most painful tourist tax hits the most low-income groups.