A bill that would add a tax of up to 200 yen per stay at Tokyo hotels was presented to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on the first day of its regular session Tuesday.
After passing through the fiscal finance panel, the plenary session of the assembly is expected to pass the bill with the backing of the Liberal Democratic Party and other parties before the session ends on Dec. 19.
The new tax plan, however, requires the approval of the central government's home affairs ministry, which oversees the finances of local governments.
The hotel tax plan was announced by Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara last month. It would affect per-night hotel rates of over 10,000 yen by adding 100 yen to room-only rates between 10,000 yen and 14,999 yen, and 200 yen to rates over 15,000 yen.
Ishihara wants to implement the new tax before the end of fiscal 2002, which ends in March 2003. The new tax would bring in an additional 1.5 billion yen per year to the metropolitan government's coffers, Ishihara said.
The proposed hotel tax is among four new tax plans recommended last year by an advisory panel to the metropolitan government.