South Indian Hotels and Restaurants Association (SIHRA) has appealed to the Union Government to introduce a uniform luxury tax of four per cent on actual tariff applicable across the country.
A decision in this regard was made at the Association’s annual general meeting held here on Saturday.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, M.P.Purushothaman, president of SIHRA, said the condition of the industry had improved slightly in the last couple of months which is evident from the room occupancy and realisation. Similarly, the Association wanted the Government to reduce the existing service tax, which would help the industry.
Recently, the Reserve Bank of India had notified that hotels had been taken out of high risk category of real estate. This would facilitate the banks to give loans at a lower interest rate and would also help the hotels to avail larger credit for developmental purposes.
The Association also have plans to appeal to the Union Government to provide infrastructure status to the hospitality industry, which would provide a lot of benefit.
It wanted the State Government to reduce the luxury tax on published tariff. Hitherto, the industry is paying a luxury tax of 12.5 per cent in the State, whereas in the neighbouring Karnataka it has been reduced to 10 per cent, Mr.Purushothaman said.
