Kyoto City Announces Revision Proposal for Accommodation Tax, Up to 10,000 Yen

Kyoto City has published a proposal to revise its accommodation tax. The proposal is scheduled to be presented at the city council meeting in February, and if approved, it will be aimed for application from March 2026, following consent through discussions with the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The accommodation tax is intended for use in enhancing the appeal of Kyoto as an “International Cultural Tourism City” and in “promoting tourism.” It will be utilized for inheriting and developing the charm of Kyoto through tourism, creating value through the power of culture, creating dignified landscapes, implementing measures for tourism issues, and improving convenience and safety for both citizens and tourists, which leads to the development of urban infrastructure. These initiatives are estimated to require about 13 billion yen.

The revision proposal suggests increasing the accommodation tax from 200 to 400 yen for accommodation fees between 6,000 and less than 20,000 yen, from 500 to 1,000 yen for fees between 20,000 and less than 50,000 yen, from 1,000 to 4,000 yen for fees between 50,000 and less than 100,000 yen, and from 1,000 to 10,000 yen for fees of 100,000 yen and above. The tax will remain at 200 yen for fees less than 6,000 yen.

By keeping the lower range the same, doubling the volume range, and increasing the higher range by four to ten times, further vertical equity is aimed for. Boundaries were not set in the volume zone around 10,000 yen to consider the administrative burden on lodging operators. The exemption of tax for school trip students and other current systems besides the tax amount will be maintained.

With this, the projected tax revenue is estimated to be about 12.6 billion yen. In the fiscal year 2023, a record high of 5.2 billion yen was collected, surpassing the 4.2 billion yen collected in the pre-COVID fiscal year of 2019.