Kyoto City is firming up plans to impose a nightly tax on providers of short-term accommodation, or ‘minpaku’-type rentals. If approved, it could go into effect from October 2018.

Under the proposal, hosts or providers may be taxed at 200 Yen per night on accommodation that is priced at under 20,000 Yen per person, per night, 500 Yen on nightly accommodation that is between 20,000 ~ 50,000 Yen, and 1,000 Yen on nightly accommodation that is over 50,000 Yen.

This tax will apply not only to hotels and ryokans, but also to short-term hosts who are letting out empty rooms in apartments, homes and machiya. Kyoto is anticipating a potential tax revenue of as much as 4.6 billion Yen (approx. 41.6 million USD) per year from this scheme. The revenue may go towards alleviating over-crowding in popular tourist spots, providing public amenities for tourists as well as the preservation of historic sites.

This will be the first locality in Japan to tax all forms of short-term accommodation, rather than just hotels and ryokans. Tokyo and Osaka already impose taxes of 100 and 300 Yen per night on hotels, but Kyoto’s tax rate will be the highest in the country.

HOTEL TAX RATES
Accommodation (per person, per night) Kyoto City Osaka City Tokyo
< ¥10,000 ¥200 ¥0 ¥0
¥10,000 ~ ¥15,000 ¥200 ¥100 ¥100
¥15,000 ~ ¥20,000 ¥200 ¥200 ¥200
¥20,000 ~ ¥50,000 ¥500 ¥300 ¥200
¥50,000 + ¥1,000 ¥300 ¥200

 

Sources:
The Yomiuri Shimbun, September 13, 2017.
NHK, September 13, 2017.
The Sankei Shimbun, September 14, 2017.

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