Barcelona approves 2025 tax plan, increasing tourist charges

The Barcelona city council approved the 2025 tax regulations on Friday, with support from the Socialists, the left-wing Comuns, and the pro-independence Esquerra.

The new fiscal regulations include several measures announced progressively throughout the year, now formalized within a legal framework for implementation.

One of the most significant measures is the increase in the tourist tax cap from €4 to €8, allowing for higher tourist charges in the future.

Currently, the city council charges €4 per person per night, the maximum allowed under regional administration regulations since early October.

While it is uncertain whether the city council will raise the tax to the full €8, or to a lower amount, and when this will happen, the new regulations provide the legal framework for such an increase.

Mayor Jaume Collboni stated that the new regulations will increase the tax burden on the tourism sector, but not on "families or small businesses."

The new tax plan also includes an increase in property tax of up to 1.17% on more than 200 of the city's hotels and new rates for tourist buses that want to park in the city, a fee that would rise from €20 to €80 per day. 

The new regulations also include the progressive increase of the waste tax over four years and the return of 50% to the neighbors who do the 'door-to-door system.'