More local govt’s eyeing lodging tax 

September 4, 2017

TOKYO- An increasing number of local governments in Japan are planning to introduce an accommodation tax in a bid to finance efforts to promote tourism amid record-breaking arrivals of tourists from abroad.

Local governments are allowed to adopt an accommodation tax by ordinance.

The Tokyo metropolitan government became the first local government to introduce such a tax, in October 2002, charging 100 to 200 yen per person per day for rooms costing 10,000 yen or more. The Osaka prefectural government followed suit in January 2017, introducing a tax of 100 to 300 yen.

The Hokkaido prefectural government and the city governments of Kanazawa, Kyoto and Nagasaki are among those studying the introduction of a lodging tax.

Kyoto is especially eager to introduce such a tax, due to limits on its local tax revenue from the concentrated presence of temples and shrines exempt from fixed asset tax and its large population of students. In fiscal 2014, Kyoto's tax revenue per capita was smaller than the average revenue of the other ordinance-designated major cities by 14,000 yen. Jiji Press