Tourist rentals, Portugal proposes a new tax

&amp;NewLine;<p>The Portuguese government has proposed a new extraordinary levy on tourist rentals &amp;lpar;<a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;vivreauportugalconsulting&period;com&sol;alojamento-local-au-portugal&sol;" data-type&equals;"post" data-id&equals;"5627">AL<&sol;a>This bill has been submitted to the National Assembly for discussion and is part of a package of measures designed to increase the supply of housing in Portugal;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Portugal proposes a new tax on tourist rentals to finance housing policies<&sol;h2>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>This sector-specific financial contribution will be added to existing taxes and duties, and will be specifically designed for owners of tourist rental properties&amp;period; It will be calculated according to the profitability of the accommodation&amp;comma; the geographical area and surface area of the property&amp;period; According to the Portuguese government&amp;comma; this contribution aims to compensate for the negative externalities that the&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;tourist rental business can have on real estate prices and to finance housing policies&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>The proceeds of this tax will be consigned to the Institute of Housing and Urban Rehabilitation to support the country's housing policies&amp;period; However&amp;comma; this proposal is not without controversy&amp;period; Owners of tourist rental accommodation&amp;comma; who have already been affected by restrictions on activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic&amp;comma; fear that this contribution will&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;further worsen their financial situation&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>The government responds to these criticisms by stressing that this contribution is not intended to suppress or discourage the activity of the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;business&period;turismodeportugal&period;pt&sol;pt&sol;planear&lowbar;iniciar&sol;como&lowbar;comecar&sol;alojamento&lowbar;local&sol;paginas&sol;default&period;aspx" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener">tourist rental<&sol;a>Rather, the aim is to balance the social and economic costs of this activity with the benefits it can bring to the tourism sector&amp;period; The government hopes that this contribution will encourage owners of tourist rental accommodation to turn to the supply of permanent rental accommodation&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>This proposed law is part of the national housing program&amp;comma; which aims to improve access to housing for all Portuguese&amp;period; The Portuguese government hopes that this sectoral financial contribution will help to increase the&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;supply of permanent rental housing in the country and stabilize property prices&amp;period; However&amp;comma; this proposal continues to generate debate and discussion within the Portuguese National Assembly and civil society in general&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>It is important to point out that this proposed law is not the first of its kind in Europe&amp;period; Cities such as Barcelona&amp;comma; Paris and Amsterdam have also introduced taxes on tourist rentals to offset the negative effects of the&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;activity on the real estate market and to finance housing policies&amp;period; However&amp;comma; it is also true that many owners of tourist rental properties have protested against these measures&amp;comma; believing that&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;they penalize their business&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;