Government is concerned about what it describes as continued delays by the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association (FHTA) and some tourism industry players over the implementation of the 5 per cent Tourism Services Tax (TST).
Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel said Government had engaged with the association and industry stakeholders since June and had twice extended the implementation date to give businesses more time to prepare.
The deadline was moved from July 1 to August 1 and then to September 1.
Mr Immanuel said the Government was concerned about negative publicity surrounding the tax and warned that attempts to delay or undermine it could affect the broader interests of the tourism industry and the national economy.
He said the TST was part of wider Government measures to support Fiji Airways, which was critical to tourism connectivity and the industry’s growth.
“Tourism contributes about 40 per cent of economic activity, generates nearly $3 billion in foreign exchange earnings and supports thousands of jobs and businesses,” he said.
Mr Immanuel said the tourism industry had benefited from tax holidays, duty concessions, tourism marketing and other Government support over the years.
He said tourism currently contributed about 5 per cent of total corporate taxes collected by Government, compared with 95 per cent from non-tourism sectors.
Mr Immanuel said the Government had designed the measure to focus on larger tourism operators and remained willing to address practical concerns.
However, he urged the industry to work constructively with Government to implement the tax rather than continue efforts to delay it.
