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Goa dearer for tourist

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panaji

Tourists visiting Goa will have to spend a little more now, thanks to the fresh hike in local duties for alcohol. The hikes were announced in the state annual budget presented by the local Congress government recently.

Liquor remains cheap, but not non-alcoholic drinks and eatables, including ice creams and sweets. Chief Minister Pratapsing Rane plans to touch liquor only if the treasury goes dry once again.

The menu card will be heavier with a hike in the sales tax on all food items, ranging from two to four per cent.

The average price in a restaurant will be calculated considering top 15 items on the menu. The tax structure ranges between 4 per cent on each item in a middle-class restaurant to 15 per cent tax on each item where the average price exceeds Rs 120 per dish.

While such taxation is unlikely to hurt the five-star tourists, who would not mind spending little more, it could cost the upper middle-class and higher middle-class tourists dearly, fear the hoteliers.

Taxes in hotels charging Rs 25 to Rs 100 for an individual items is now pegged at eight per cent while it is 12 per cent for the hotels charging between Rs 100 to Rs 200 for individual items. This may hit the several Punjabi and Gujarati restaurants which have mushroomed in the state to cater to the north Indian and vegetarian-preferring tourists.

In addition, the Goa budget has also brought north Indian and Gujarati items will also pay taxes at four per cent, while spices will be taxed at two per cent.

Hoteliers will be compelled to hike their menu rates due to one or two per cent hike in sales tax on edible oil, cooking fat, butter, etc.

Goa has recently also seen sudden spurt in ready-made cloth shops, including exclusive showrooms of Lee, Lacoste, Levis, Weekender, Reebok, Nike, and Adidas. Tourists are known to prefer such costly items while sunbathing on the beaches. The state government is likely to impose fresh taxes or a hike in their taxes soon.