Hotels hit back as Tokyo plans to hike lodging tax with percentage-based system
The plan would replace the current flat-rate hotel tax with a 3 per cent levy that hoteliers say would unfairly burden certain travellers
Under the current system introduced in 2002, travellers are charged a flat tax of 100 yen (US$0.63) per night if their room costs between 10,000 yen and 15,000 yen. The rate rises to 200 yen for rooms priced above that.
But Tokyo’s metropolitan government now wants to scrap that model in favour of a proportional system that reflects actual room rates – a move critics say disproportionately affects travellers staying at higher-end accommodation.
The revamped tax would also apply to “minpaku” – Japan’s term for Airbnb-style short-stay rentals – which were previously not subject to the hotel tax.
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Masaharu Naruse, president of the Tokyo chapter of the Japan Hotel Association (JHA), warned the shift would place an unfair burden on lodging guests while ignoring other types of visitors who also use city services.