After months of disagreements over application criteria, the three political groups registered joint amendments to the bill currently being processed in the Parliament. The full tax increase will take effect in the city of Barcelona starting in April, while the rise will be gradual in the rest of Catalonia's municipalities, reaching the definitive rate by April 2027.
The tax will be doubled across all types of hotel establishments. In Barcelona, the maximum levy per person per night will reach 15 euros by 2029. Starting April 1, 2026, rates will be 7 euros for five-star hotels and 4.50 euros for tourist use housing. This includes Barcelona's municipal surcharge, which will progressively increase up to a maximum of 8 euros per person per night by 2029.
“"These changes in the tax represent a paradigm shift, and we celebrate that there is co-responsibility from tourists regarding housing, with 25% of the revenue allocated to these policies."
A key novelty is the extension of the option to apply a municipal surcharge to other localities in Catalonia, capped at four euros. Furthermore, municipalities can set different amounts based on postal codes or payment periods to encourage seasonality reduction. Esquerra Republicana deputy Laia Cañigueral argued that the tax becomes a “municipalist tool” granting “local autonomy.”
The agreement also modifies the purpose of the revenue. While 75% of the income will remain for the Fund for Tourism Promotion, the remaining 25% will be allocated to housing policies. The tourism business sector has expressed unanimous rejection, deeming the measure “improvised, lacking strategic rigor,” and driven by a “purely revenue-raising objective.”
