ROME, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi wants to allow towns and cities in Italy to impose a tax on tourists.
Included in Prodi's proposed 2007 budget is an accommodation tax of up to $6.30 per day that would apply all tourists, including Italians, the BBC reported.
This is not a real tax in the proper sense of the term," Tourism Minister Francesco Rutelli told the BBC, "but a possibility offered to towns and which does not affect residents."
Cities will be able to apply the tax at certain times of year and have the authority to exempt places like youth hostels from imposing it.
What do affect residents in Prodi's budget proposal are spending cuts and a 2 percent income tax hike for those earning more than $50,722, the BBC said. The tax increases and cuts are aimed at reducing Italy's deficit.
Observers told the BBC say Prodi faces a stiff challenge in getting parliament to approve his budget by the end of the year.
