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Disappointment for Mallorca's car rental companies

New 'eco-tax' will hit car hire companies & consumers from April 2013

featured in News & reviews Author Nicola Henderson, Site Editor Updated

A new tax on car rental is due to be introduced in Mallorca from April 2013 as one of the measures that the Balearic Government are taking to raise extra funds for the economy.

There have been several meetings between representatives from the car hire companies and the Minister for Budget & Finance, and the latest compromise is that the tax will be charged at rates between €3.00 and €7.50 per day (depending on CO2 emmisions), down from the originally proposed €3.50 and €9.00 per day. These charges will be passed on directly to holiday makers, making your weekly car rental in 2013 a whole lot more expensive.

The car rental industry say that the tax will cause small and medium sized businesses on Mallorca to close as they will not be able to pass on the new tax to the many customers who have already booked their holiday car hire. They had hoped that the tax would be scrapped rather than simply reduced.

The tax is seen as a tax on tourism which Spain and in particular, Mallorca, can ill-afford to abuse.

The governement hopes to raise €60 million this year from the eco-tax, and this sum has already been included in the years budget.