Minister of Environment and Tourism of FBiH Edita Djapo explained that the decision to link the Law on Tourism with the Law on Tourism Activity, which regulates the work of tourist agencies and tourist guides, was made.
She also added that the new law regulates three areas: tourist communities that are now called tourism organizations, the work of tourist agencies and the work of tourist guides. It partly complies with the EU directives and the Reform Agenda, whose aim is the increase of employment and reducing the gray economy.
Moreover, an introduction of an electronic register that will be placed in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of the FBiH was planned, and it will include a register of all agencies and guides who will take a general knowledge exam on the federal and cantonal level.
Talking about the Law on Residence Tax, she explained that they decided to create this law because these are the practices of the regional countries and they regulate that every tourist, domestic or foreigner, who is staying at a certain location, will pay the residence tax, and they also defined that children, people with disabilities, pensioners that are treated in spa’s etc., will be excluded from paying.
The law stipulates the distribution of taxes in a manner so that 10 % goes to the level of FBiH, 10 % to cantons and 80 % to the local community, because the World Travel Organization of UN, with whose recommendations the law complies, predicts that tourism is the local industry and money remains where it is generated.
The residence tax now amounts to 2 BAM and it is assumed that it will remain like that. However, the possibility for the increase of taxes is not excluded, since the Government will propose the amount of the residence tax every year in October. About 800,000 BAM is collected in this way.
(Source: akta.ba)
