Sustainable Tourism Law

344 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW polluting vehicles, considering them as the oldest (for that matter, those registered before 2006) 14 . We are now in 2017, declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 15 . During this important year, it would be advisable to reflect on the need for taxation that adequately takes into account environmental and tourism sustainability objectives. We think that the objective should not be to create new taxes for ecotourism purposes, but to better configure existing ones. This is the objective of this work, which we hope will give rise to a future in-depth investigation. II. THE GENERAL TAXATION APPLIED TO TOURISM: VAT The economic activity linked to tourism is subject, in a good portion of the cases, to a general imposition that taxes the onerous delivery of goods and benefits for services, when the one delivering the goods or providing the services is an entrepreneur; that is, subject to VAT 16 . In Spain, the general rate is 21%, with two reduced tax rates: the so-called reduced rate of 10% and the super reduced rate of 4%. VAT does not apply in the Canary Islands or in Ceuta or Melilla, where there are other tax figures, which for the first case (Canary Islands) shares the philosophy of VAT, the Canarian Indirect General Tax, although it has more varied tax rates and is generally lower than the VAT, because of the insular character and distance of the Canary Islands Community regarding the Peninsula. In fact, the general rate in the Canary Islands is 7%. In Ceuta and Melilla there is a monophasic tax, which we will not analyse in depth. In Portugal, the other Iberian country, the general rate stands at 23%, while the reduced one is of 13% and the super reduced of 6%. But the neighbouring country also has special rates for the Azores and Madeira. Azores has rates of 4%, 14 http://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/Londres-implanta-trafico-coches-contaminantes_0_700280194.html ; published on eldiario.es , on October 23, 2017. Collects the news that for this T-Charge toll 10 pounds (11.2 euros) are paid for circulating in the city center, which is added to the rate of decongestion, which is 11.50 pounds (12.9 euros), which for the detractors is considered as harmful for the poorest, those who have the oldest vehicles and cannot buy a newer, presumably less polluting one. 15 Resolution approved by the General Assembly on December 22, 2015, approved at the 81st plenary session, of December 22, A/RES/70/193. http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A /RES/70/193&referer=/ english/&Lang=S. Decision 4 of that Resolution says that the UNencourages all States, the UnitedNations systemand other agents to promote, in the wake of the International Year, measures to promote sustainable tourism and eradicate poverty. 16 VAT in Spain is regulated by Law 37/1992, of December 28, on Value Added Tax, with its additional reforms (from now on LIVA).