Cancun, Q.R. — Cancun hotel leaders have begun meetings with deputies to prevent another tax increase. The increase, which was proposed by Cancun City Council, is aimed at the current Environmental Sanitation Right (DSA) paid by tourists.
City council has suggested an increase of up to 150 percent of the current Derecho de Saneamiento Ambiental (DSA) tax.
President of the Cancun, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres Hotel Association, Roberto Cintrón Gómez, warned that if they do not reach an agreement, they will resort to legal protection.
Currently, hotels are responsible for paying the DSA tax by collecting the fee through tourists who book stays. An approved increase in the tax would mean hotels would be charged more, which would then be reflected in an increase in their hotel rates.
Cintrón says increasing the tax would subsequently increase hotel rates, which would reduce competitiveness in the region as a vacation destination.
Currently, the Treasury Law of the Municipality of Benito Juárez establishes that hotels are responsible for retaining the tax and reporting it monthly to the Municipal Treasury.
The hotel association head said that there will not be a counter-proposal from the hotel sector because there should not be an increase in the tax, since it would only make Cancun less competitive, adding that the region continues to struggle in the competition with other destinations for tourism.
The Derecho de Saneamiento Ambiental (DSA) tax is collected since the state deems commerce and tourism generate significant amounts of solid waste, which means a commitment to having free space to dispose of that extra garbage. Money collected from the tax compensates for the impact on the environment.
In 2021, Benito Juárez City Council collected more than 175 million peso in DSA tax.
The proposal for the DSA tax increase was submitted by state deputy José de la Peña Ruiz de Chávez, at the request of the municipality of Benito Juárez. For the time being, Cintrón says they have begun lobbying to prevent the proposal from materializing.
