Paris wants to tax luxury hotel customers, inspired by “Amazon rate”

The City Council of Paris This Wednesday he presented the main lines of his plan against climate change and included two new taxes to finance it: one for clients of luxury hotels and another inspired by Barcelona for internet commerce (the so-called ‘Amazon tax’).

In the presentation of these general lines in favor of the climate, which must be definitively voted on in the first quarter of 2024 in the municipal plenary session, the mayor’s office of the socialist Anne Hidalgo acknowledged being inspired by the measure of Barcelona.

The ‘Amazon rate’applied in the Spanish city since March 2023, taxes companies involved in the distribution of goods purchased online and delivered in the city.

“This measure would have a positive impact on the city’s revenue. For example, a tax of one euro levied on each shipment delivered expressly (24 to 48 hours) would raise US$195 million a year in Paris.”, calculates the City Council, which wants to value companies with more than one million euros of annual income.

The Paris City Council considers that the rapid online delivery system creates urban congestion and generates noise and air pollution, due to the high number of motorcycles or vans required.

Furthermore, he believes that putting a stop to this type of deliveries will serve to combat the precarious employment generated by the sector.

The Consistory of Paris, Led by a socialist cabinet allied with the communists and the greens, it also wants to raise the rate of stay in high-end hotels.

The idea is to establish a special tax on clients who stay in a 5-star or higher hotel, equivalent to 5% of the cost of a night.

Currently, this tax per night and person is fixed, US$ 4.08 for a 5-star hotel and US$ 5.44 for a category hotel. “palace”.

With the eventual implementation of the 5% tax, which has not yet been explained in detail by the municipal team, a guest of a luxury hotel You could spend around US$21.76, taking into account that the average price in a 5-star hotel in Paris is just under US$435.

Among the measures announced today by Hidalgo, those dedicated to the pedestrianization of the city stand out, transforming 60,000 parking spaces to convert them into 100 hectares for exclusive areas for pedestrians.

By 2030, Paris has set a goal of reducing 50% of polluting gas emissionsuntil reaching carbon neutrality in 2050.

In that sense, he confirmed the controversial reform of the city’s ring road (known as ‘Le Périphérique’) dedicating a road for the Public transportation and private individuals who share a vehicle, while lowering the maximum speed on this congested road to 50 km/h.