“Regardless, with or without the tourist tax, the area of ​​housing is a priority”, declared the vice-president of the Lisbon Chamber, Filipe Anacoreta Correia (CDS-PP).

As part of a hearing at the Lisbon Municipal Assembly on the 2023 budget proposal, the vice-mayor said that the tourist tax model can be changed, noting that this competence is not the exclusive responsibility of the municipal executive.

The use of revenue from the municipal tourist tax for investment in the area of ​​housing, including to “mitigate the effects of tourism” on the supply and prices of houses in the city, was defended by municipal deputies Vasco Barata (BE) and Miguel Coelho (PS) , as well as the possibility of increasing the current value of two euros per night.

This proposal was opposed by Carlos Reis (PSD), who considered it “illegal”, stating that “the housing problem cannot be solved with more taxes”.

In response, Anacoreta Correia said that “it is possible to deepen” the model of the municipal tourist tax in Lisbon, but cautioned that, in the budgetary volume of the council, this tax has a “very limited” revenue.

“We are forecasting to close the year with a revenue of 32 million euros from tourist tax for a budget that will be of almost 1,000 million euros”, he pointed out.

In the city of Lisbon, the tourist tax began to be applied in January 2016 on overnight stays of national tourists (including locals) and foreigners in a hotel or local accommodation units. Initially, it was one euro per night, but from January 2019 it increased to two euros.