Sustainable Tourism Law

352 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW The foundation on which the implantation of the two autonomous experiences that tax tourist establishments in Spain is based has been carried out considering extrafiscal notions, connected to real issues conforming to any end not contrary to the Constitution and alien to the interests of simple collection. It is determined that the proceeds, both for the Catalan case and the Balearic case, will be assigned to a fund in which certain purposes are met. Thus, for example, the Balearic law states that “it is essential to find additional sources of funding from which it is possible to implement the necessary policies so that tourism activity can continue to develop harmoniously and that this does not imply in the medium or long term a risk of irreversible deterioration of the economic and environmental balance” 42 . It is argued that those who spend a stay in a tourist accommodation establishment exteriorize a “unique economic capacity” (in the words of the Catalan text). This is the philosophy of these taxes, which we may well consider special. As we have pointed out, we think that this “unique economic capacity” is questioned in stays in youth hostels or other similar establishments of low category, because they are not precisely a reflection that manifests an unquestionably singular economic capacity subject to tax. They are rather a cheap alternative, typical of the group of “young” (although the legislation of both taxes exempts those under 16, but not older than this age), with an economy subordinated to that of their parents 43 . On the other hand, in the structuring of the Catalan tax, and also in the Balearic Islands, a greater sensitivity is missing due to the personal and family circumstances of the taxpayers, who can also be estimated in some way in the taxes that are considered indirect. In this sense, conditions such as being unemployed or being part of a large family, through the exemption or bonus mechanism, should be kept in mind. It is also important to take into account the tariff of individual taxes, which are connected depending on the category of the establishment, such as the stars. 42 The amounts collected by the Balearic tax, affected to the fund regulated in art. 19 of Law 2/2016, will be used to finance a) the protection, preservation, modernization and recovery of the natural, rural, agricultural and marine environment; b) the promotion of the deseasonalization, creation and activation of tourist products practicable in low season, and promotion of sustainable and low season tourism; c) recovery and rehabilitation of historical and cultural heritage; d) promotion of research projects that contribute to economic diversification, the fight against climate change or those related to the tourism sector; and e) the improvement of training and the quality of employment; and the promotion of occupation in low season. 43 BOKOBO MOICHE, S.: La fiscalidad…, op. cit., p. 258, wondered what type of accommodation should be taxed on a tax on overnight stays, advocating the inclusion of “todo tipo de alojamientos para que no se produzcan discriminaciones injustificadas: hoteles, pensiones, albergues, campings, casas rurales o casas particulares. Esto no empece para que se establezcan exenciones dependiendo del tipo de establecimiento o más concretamente el precio de la pernoctación”.