The Parliament approved that the taxation of casinos in Catalonia will increase from 10 to 55 percent.
Spain.- More than a decade has passed since the Generalitat de Catalunya announced with great fanfare the construction of Barcelona World, a mega entertainment and gaming complex that would be located in the jurisdictions of Salou and Vila-Seca, in the province of Tarragona. However, the project, which was later taken over by Hard Rock, seems unlikely to see the light of day.
Yesterday, Wednesday, January 29, the Catalan Parliament approved the bill to modify the taxation of tourist recreational centers, with the support of PSC, ERC, the Comuns, and the CUP, the abstention of Aliança Catalana (AC), and the rejection of Junts, PP, and Vox.
The bill, which will affect the aforementioned Hard Rock project, maintains the current gambling taxes, which for casinos with higher business volume is 55 percent, and eliminates the reduction to 10 percent that was approved in 2014, which would come into effect when the gaming and betting activities in the mega-complex operated by Hard Rock began.
See also: Support from the Minister of Industry and Tourism for the Hard Rock project in Tarragona
The Hard Rock project estimates investments worth EUR2.000m and plans the construction of a complex with 1,000 hotel rooms, a casino, a shopping center, a 6,000 square meter swimming pool, a concert space, among other amenities.
The idea of building the mega-complex was born in 2012. Specifically the mayors of both localities were the last to refer to the development of the complex which has made little to no progress in ten years.
